"That will be a good option" - Harbhajan Singh wants India to make one change to their playing XI for IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy match

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that the Men in Blue should include mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy in the lineup for the 2025 Champions Trophy match against New Zealand. He opined that having four spinners would be a good option against the Blackcaps on Sunday.

He suggested that Chakravarthy can come in place of right-arm pacer Harshit Rana. He emphasized that Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami should share the new ball, with the four spinners coming into the attack after that.

In his latest YouTube video, the cricketer-turned-commentator said (from 1:33):

"Think we might get to see Varun Chakravarthy get a chance in the playing XI. Maybe Gautam Gambhir would think that New Zealand don't play spin that well. So it can also happen that four spinners play here. Hardik had bowled well against Pakistan. He has to bowl just seven or eight overs. If Hardik shares the new ball with Shami and then we have four spinners, I think that will be a good option."

Harbhajan's predicted India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.

It is worth mentioning that both India and New Zealand have qualified for the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal. The winner of their encounter will finish as the table-toppers of Group A. The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, March 2.

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"Toss will be a big factor" - Harbhajan Singh on IND vs NZ 2025 Champions Trophy match

In the aforementioned video, Harbhajan Singh also spoke about the importance of the toss in the India-New Zealand game. He reckoned that the team winning the toss should consider batting first.

Highlighting that spinners will play a major role in the second half because of the climate in Dubai, the 44-year-old said (from 0:59):

"Toss will be a big factor in Dubai as well because of how the heat has been increasing. In this heat, this pitch will be even slower. So whichever team wins the toss, they should look to bat first. Bat first and score runs. India, hopefully, would be thinking from that perspective. As the sun sets, the pitch will be useful for the spinners."

The winner of the Group A match between India and New Zealand will take on Australia in the 2025 Champions semifinals. The losing team, on the other hand, will compete against Group B's table-toppers South Africa for a place in the final.