IND vs ENG 2025: Varun Chakaravarthy added to India's squad for England ODIs; Jasprit Bumrah ruled out

Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has earned his maiden call-up to the Indian ODI side as the mystery spinner has been added to India's squad for the three-match ODI series against England. Meanwhile, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who was an unlikely participant as he continues to recover from a back injiury he sustained in the final Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been ruled out.

As for Chakaravarthy, the mystery spinner has been in red-hot form since his return to India's T20 setup last year against Bangladesh. He made his international debut during the T20 World Cup in 2021. However, insipid performances at the marquee event meant that he had to grind it out in the domestic circuit for three years. After a fruitful Indian Premier League (IPL) season last year, when he helped Kolkata Knight Riders win their third title, Chakaravarthy returned to the national team and has gone from strength to strength.

Since his return, the 33-year-old has picked up 31 wickets in 12 matches at a mind-boggling average of just 11.25. He recently played a pivotal role in India's 4-1 T20I series win against England. Chakaravarthy won the Player of the Series award for picking up 14 wickets from five games.

Chakaravarthy's state-mates Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin have backed the inclusion of the Bidar-born in India's squad for the impending Champions Trophy after his impressive exploits in the shortest format. If Chakaravarthy gets an opportunity during the ODIs against England and performs well, he could make the cut for the global event. India have already announced a provisional squad but they can make changes to it till the February 12 deadline.

Also Read: Varun Chakaravarthy might make it to India's Champions Trophy squad: R Ashwin

India had already picked four spinners in their squad for the England ODIs as well as the Champions Trophy. While Kuldeep Yadav was named as the lone specialist spinner, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel are the spin-bowling all-rounders in the lineup.

In List A cricket, Chakaravarthy has played 23 matches and accounted for 59 wickets at an average of 14.13 and a strike rate of 19.80. He also has four five-wicket hauls in 50-over cricket. 

India’s updated squad for ODI series against England

Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.