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.
While there has been no official announcement from the BCCI on Varun’s inclusion, the development is significant 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 play England in Nagpur, Cuttack and Ahmedabad on February 6, 9 and 12 before heading to Dubai for the Champions Trophy. They can make changes to their Champions Trophy squad until February 11 without approval from the ICC.
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
