India skipper Rohit Sharma weighs in on chances of Varun Chakaravarthy featuring in squad for CT 2025

India will take on England for the first ODI match of the series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been added to Team India's squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England.

Varun picked 14 wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in Rajkot in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against England. He was also the player of the series for his stellar bowling performance. Varun has joined the ODI squad in Nagpur, a release from BCCI stated.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit opened up on Varun's addition to India's squad for the ODI series against England and said that they wanted to have an option and see what the Men in Blue could do with the 33-year-old spinner.

"I understand that it is in T20 format but, he has clearly got something different about him. So we wanted to have an option and see what we could do with him. During the series, it presents us with an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he is capable of," Rohit was quoted by ICC as saying.

When asked if Varun will be added to India's squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, the Men in Blue skipper said that the mystery spinner will "definitely" be in contention if things plan out well.

"Right now, we're not thinking about whether we're going to take him (for Champions Trophy) or not but he definitely will be in contention if things plan out really well for us and he does what is required then that is definitely something we need to think about," he added.

The Champions Trophy 2025 will feature 15 matches and will be played across Pakistan and Dubai. The ICC tournament will kick off on February 19 and will conclude on March 9. It will be hosted by Pakistan and UAE, with India playing its matches in Dubai under a hybrid model.

At the pre-match press conference, a reporter questioned India pacer Mohammed Shami's performance in the T20I series against the Three Lions, to which Rohit said that if the 34-year-old bowler fails to perform in a few matches then it doesnt mean that he is not a good bowler.

The India skipper also pointed out Shami's top-class performance in the ODI World Cup 2023.

"He has been playing cricket for the past 10-12 years and has performed for the team. You look at the World Cup and how he bowled then. In domestic cricket, if a few games didn't pan out the way he would've thought, then that doesn't mean he isn't a good bowler. He has won us so many games, and picked so many wickets, it is crucial to keep that in mind," Rohit said.

In the five-match T20I series against England, Shami featured in only two games, where he bagged three wickets at an average of 16.67.

The second ODI match between India and England will be played at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium on Sunday. Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium will host the third and final match of the 50-over series on February 12.

India's updated squad for ODI series against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman 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. (ANI)