"One spinner too many if not two" - Indian legend questions Men in Blue's squad selection for Champions Trophy 2025

Off-spinning legend Ravichandran Ashwin questioned India's thinking behind selecting five spinners in their 15-member squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy. The Men in Blue already had four spinners, namely Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar, in their provisional squad for the eight-team tournament.

However, they recently replaced Yashasvi Jaiswal with a fifth spinner in Varun Chakravarthy in their final Champions Trophy squad. While India recently played four spinners in several of the games of the T20I series at home against England, it remains to be seen if they go for such an approach in the 50-over format.

Talking about India's final Champions Trophy squad on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said [via India Today]:

"What I don't understand is the number of spinners we are taking to Dubai. 5 spinners and we have made Yashasvi Jaiswal sit out. Yeah, I understand that we take 3 or 4 spinners for a tour. But five spinners in Dubai? I don't know. I think we are one spinner too many if not two."

He added:

"The two left-arm spinners are your best all-rounders alongside Hardik Pandya. So both Axar and Jadeja are going to play. Hardik will also play and Kuldeep will play. If you want Varun Chakravarthy in the team, then you will have to make a pacer sit out and use Hardik as your second pacer. Else, you will have to drop a spinner to bring in a 3rd seamer."

Team India are part of Group A alongside Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. They will open their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh in Dubai on February 20.

"How will you make space for Varun?" - R Ashwin

Varun Chakravarthy tormented the English batters in their white-ball tour of India [Credit: Getty]

Ravichandran Ashwin questioned how India will include Varun Chakravarthy in any of the games in the Champions Trophy, considering Kuldeep Yadav is a sure starter throughout the tournament.

Varun made his ODI debut in the second game of the recently concluded series against England, resulting in his eleventh-hour selection to the Champions Trophy squad.

"I don't think there is any doubt that Kuldeep Yadav will walk into the team. So how will you make space for Varun. Is he bowling well? of course. Either you bring in Varun and Kuldeep as a duo, which I feel would be good. But my question is, in Dubai, are you expecting the ball to turn? I feel a bit uncomfortable with the team," said Ashwin.

Spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are all but certain to feature in the playing XI, considering the team's preference for batting at No. 8. This leaves a spot for only one of Kuldeep and Varun as the third spinner, assuming India play two specialist pacers at least.