Varun Chakravarthy added to India's squad for ODI series vs England: BCCI

On the back of his exploits in the five-match T20I series against England, leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been added to India's squad for the three-match ODI series against England.

Chakravarthy has not played an ODI game for India so far, but his performance in the T20Is against England, where he took 14 wickets and in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he scalped 18, brought his inclusion to the squad. 

The spinner trained with the Indian squad on Tuesday, two days out from the series opener on Thursday. His inclusion adds another shot in the arm to the spin attack which features Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.

Chakravarthy was recently part of the Tamil Nadu team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The spinner was the second-highest wicket-taker of the season in the domestic 50-over tournament as he took 18 wickets, only two less than the leader Arshdeep Singh.

The Indian Board has confirmed Chakravarthy's inclusion in the Indian team. "The Men’s Selection Committee has added Varun Chakaravarthy to India’s squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against England," BCCI wrote in a media



release.

While the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner has not played any ODI, his recent performances voiced his inclusion in the ODI squad not for only the England series but also for the Champions Trophy. Chakravarthy's inclusion also comes amidst Indian specialist bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav - coming from injury breaks. 

India defeated England in the five-match T20I series by 4-1 after their spinners struck in unison and batters complemented them with blistering knocks. They face England in the three-match ODI series from February 6 onwards with Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur hosting the opener. The second match will take place on February 9 at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, followed by the final one on February 12 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

India's updated squad for England ODIs:

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana (first two ODIs), Jasprit Bumrah (third ODI), Varun Chakravarthy