India is set to play Australia in the 1st semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on March 4 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Ahead of the highly anticipated clash, Varun Chakaravarthy has given a selection headache to captain Rohit Sharma after his match-winning performance against New Zealand in the last league game. The big question now is whether India will go with four spinners against Australia or drop someone to make way for Harshit Rana or Arshdeep Singh.
After qualifying for the semi-final by winning the first two matches, India tried their mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in their last league match against New Zealand in place of a fast bowler, Harshit Rana. The change went well as Varun took a fifer, and India defeated the Kiwis by 44 runs. The 33-year-old was also named Player of the Match for his 5/42.
As pitch, Dubai’s pitch assists India’s spinners in the India vs New Zealand match. Cricket experts and fans are expecting the four spinners in the Indian side for the 1st Semi Finals. Currently, India has the luxury of spin with Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Washington Sundar.
India to play 4 spinners against Australia?
During the pre-match press conference, the Indian captain Rohit Sharma said, “No, look, He just showed what he’s capable of. Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. Obviously, look, he got a game. He did everything that was asked for. And I said it at the post-match as well that he’s got something different about him. And when he gets it right, he knocks people over and he takes five-five wickets. It is very tempting to think about what to do, which is a good headache to have. We’ll just try and assess. We just want to go back and think about what the Australian batting lineup will look like and how we can try and see what kind of bowling options will work against them”
