India's mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has joined the India squad in Nagpur - venue of the first of three ODIs against England scheduled to be played on February 6. Varun was not part of the original squad which had Kuldeep Yadav as the only specialist spinner apart from three spin all-rounders in Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

Advertisment

Varun joining the squad comes on the back of his Player of the Series performance in recently-concluded five T20Is against England. He ended up taking 14 wickets in the series - the most among both sides.

Also Read: 'A question for them,' England skipper Jos Buttler takes another DIG at Shivam Dube

His inclusion comes after coach Gautam Gambhir's insistence. Notably, Chakaravarthy also plays IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - a side Gambhir mentored to title in last season before becoming India coach. During that season, Chakravarthy had taken 21 wickets.

Advertisment

"Gambhir insisted on adding Varun Chakravarthy to India squad for England series," sources close to the development told WION.

"The Men’s Selection Committee has added Varun Chakaravarthy to India’s squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against England," read the official release from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Recently, retired offie Ravi Ashwin also backed Chakaravarthy for making it to India's Champions Trophy squad as well.

Advertisment

"We are all talking about whether he should have been there (Champions Trophy squad), I am thinking there is a chance he might be there. I have a feeling he might make it. There is a chance because all teams have named only a provisional squad. So, he might get picked," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

India’s updated squad for three-match 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