Former India international backed Varun Chakravarthy to feature in the five-match Test series against England. He explained that the Ben Stokes-led side struggles against mystery spinners and wants India to take advantage of that.
India will travel to England for a five-match Test series later in the year. The Rohit Sharma-led side suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Australia earlier in the year and another loss to England may force the team management to take some bold call and drop the seniors from the squad. Notably, the team has done well in England in recent times but a series win against them away from home is pending since 2007.
Former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu believes that the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy can help the team win a Test series over England in the coming summer. Justifying the reason, the cricketer-turned-commentator stated that playing mystery spin has been England’s one of the biggest weaknesses and wants India to capitalize on that.
“Mystery spinners are England’s weakness. It’s a swollen nerve for England. Will you leave out Varun Chakravarthy? No, you will have to play him. Or you will play Kuldeep Yadav with his high-end deliveries from both ends, they can’t read him,” Sidhu told Sports Today.
Notably, Varun made his return to the T20 set-up in 2024 after Gautam Gambhir took over as the head coach. In Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, he was also called up for the ODI squad in the series against England and immediately made an impact, which forced the team management to select him for the Champions Trophy 2025 as well.
The 33-year-old kept up with the momentum and finished as India’s leading wicket-taker in the Champions Trophy. He played a vital role in the Men in Blue winning the trophy after 12 years and looking at him form, Sidhu backed his inclusion in the Test team as well. However, the red-ball squad is currently stacked with the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep in the mix. It remains unlikely that the team will test Varun in the England series.
