Former England batter Kevin Pietersen hailed Varun Chakravarthy’s inclusion in India’s ODI squad for the three-match series against England, calling it "a great decision." However, he backed the English batters to handle the spinner better in the longer format.

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Chakravarthy was instrumental in India’s 4-1 T20I series win over England, claiming 14 wickets. His impressive performance earned him a place in the ODI squad for the series, which begins in Nagpur on Thursday.

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"The English batters will find it easier against him in ODIs because they have more time to settle in. It’s a longer format, where not every ball is an event. But I still think picking him is a great call," Pietersen said during the launch of Dram Bell Scotch Whisky.

Reflecting on England’s T20I series loss, Pietersen termed it a "disaster" and suggested the outcome could have been different if a like-for-like concussion substitute had been used for Shivam Dube instead of fast bowler Harshit Rana.

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"It was a disappointing series for England. In the fourth T20I, if the concussion substitution had been handled correctly, England might have won. That would have made it 2-2 going into the Wankhede, adding much more to the final game. But it didn’t happen," he said.

Pietersen also heaped praise on young Indian batter Abhishek Sharma, crediting Yuvraj Singh’s influence on him.

"Abhishek was outstanding. He had the shades on… You can see Yuvraj’s impact on him. His knock was the best T20I innings I’ve ever seen, and I told him that," Pietersen said.

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"It was effortless. His stroke play was pure—no funky shots, no ramps, no reverse sweeps. Just perfection," he added, marveling at the Punjab left-hander’s batting display.

(With inputs from agencies)