"He was such a huge difference" - R Ashwin names his pick for 2025 Champions Trophy Player of the Tournament award after India's triumph 

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has picked Varun Chakaravarthy as his choice for the Player of the Tournament award after Team India's 2025 Champions Trophy triumph on Sunday (March 9). The mystery spinner ended as the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the campaign with nine scalps, despite not playing the majority of the group-stage matches.

Replacing Harshit Rana in Team India's Group A encounter against New Zealand, Chakaravarthy made an instant impact with a five-wicket haul. After making only one ODI appearance prior to the Champions Trophy campaign, and coming in as a late addition to the squad, the pressure was on the mystery spinner to deliver as the fourth spinner.

He continued his fine run in the knockout stages, making new batters uncomfortable with his variations, and picking up crucial wickets to help India's cause.

Ashwin opined that Chakaravarthy deserves the award purely because of the impact he has been able to bring with him.

"Whatever said and done, I think the player of the tournament, in my view, I would go for Varun Chakaravarthy. He did not play the whole tournament, but he was such a huge difference. If he was not there in the final, I think this game would have been very very different," he said on his YouTube channel.

He further mentioned that the mystery spinner should be a certain inclusion for the 2026 T20 World Cup squad, along with Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav. He feels that this particular bowling core will prove to be a game-changing one during the campaign at home next year.

"Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, and Kuldeep Yadav should be the first names on the team sheet for the 2026 T20 World Cup, write it now itself, the discussion is over. You cannot leave them out at any cost. That is one hell of a bowling attack to defend your T20 World Cup title," he added.

Chakaravarthy made his comeback through the shortest format, and has been a revelation for India in that regard. He is currently the No. 2 ranked T20I bowler in the world after a stellar series against England at home earlier this year.

"I would have loved to see Shreyas Iyer finish the game" - R Ashwin on Iyer's role in the run-chase

Shreyas Iyer had to navigate yet another tricky phase during a run-chase in the Champions Trophy. Coming into bat after Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli fell in quick succession, the onus was on the right-handed batter to navigate through the testing overs against spinners in the middle overs.

He played his part by scoring 48 runs off 62 deliveries, but lost his wicket at a crucial juncture. The score read 183-4 in the 39th over after his dismissal, and it needed composure from the lower middle-order to get India over the line.

"I would have loved to see Shreyas Iyer finish the game. We should remember him as someone who played Virat Kohli's role of finishing a chase. I am not suggesting that Iyer is a legend or Kohli's replacement, please do not misinterpret. The way Iyer is batting, it makes sense for him to cross the line by himself," Ashwin said.

Iyer ended the campaign as India's leading run-scorer with 243 runs in five innings at an average of 48.60 and a strike rate of 79.41.