The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday, replaced ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy for the upcoming three-match home ODI series against England, scheduled to run from February 6 to 12.
The development came a day after Indian media reported that the right-arm pacer had reached the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to undergo scans on his injured back.
He was already supposed to miss the first two ODIs of the upcoming series but was likely to return for the final fixture in a bid to play at least one match before the eight-team tournament.
"Bumrah has been told to off-load for five weeks after and he won't be available for the first two ODIs against England," said chairman of men's senior selection committee Ajit Agarkar, while announcing their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
"We are waiting on his fitness and will know his status in early February from the medical team. We'll probably find out a bit more around that time, what exactly, and with regards to what his medical condition is, I'm sure BCCI might just put something out, from the physio itself," he added.
Meanwhile, his absence from the entirety of the series has raised doubts regarding his participation in the global tournament.
The 31-year-old is a part of India's squad for the Champions Trophy but may be replaced by Harshit Rana if he does not get fit in time.
Chakravarthy added
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been added to the ODI squad for the three-match series against England on the back of his outstanding performance in the five T20Is.
Varun travelled with the squad to Nagpur, the venue for the first ODI, and trained on Tuesday ahead of the series opener on Thursday. He was the highest wicket-taker in India's 4-1 victory in the T20I series that ended on Sunday, taking 14 wickets at an average of 9.86 with an economy of 7.66.
Varun is uncapped in ODIs and this is his first inclusion in the squad. He has played only 23 List A games and was the second highest wicket-taker in this season's Vijay Hazare Trophy with 18 wickets in six matches for Tamil Nadu. His presence in the ODI squad strengths a spin-attack that already included Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.
Varun's inclusion is a significant development considering these ODIs against England are the first 50-over games India are playing since August last year and the only series before the upcoming Champions Trophy. A number of specialist bowlers in the Champions Trophy squad - Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah - are on the comeback trail from injuries. Bumrah is part of the squad for only the third ODI against England, with Harshit Rana in the 16 for the first two games.
India ODI squad vs England
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.
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