Ahead of India opening their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Stadium, captain Rohit Sharma shared that wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy doesn’t bowl his full kitty of variations to batters in the nets too. Chakaravarthy made his debut in ODIs against England at Cuttack, where he claimed 1-54. But he had an impressive List A record, which reads as 60 wickets from 24 matches at an amazing average of 14.8. Chakaravarthy became the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 18 scalps in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, to be added to the last minute in the Champions Trophy squad in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

“He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets, as he bowls in just the same one way. Maybe, he doesn’t want to show his variations even to us. But that is a good thing. He has got certain weapons which he wants to just put it out there, when it actually matters. I am more than happy if he wants to do that. But he has got something different which is why he is here with us. Whatever I have seen of him in the past 8-9 months, has been extremely impressive. That is why we wanted to bring him here and see what he has and what he can do for India on this big stage. So, let’s see now what happens. It’s just about now executing that on the field,” said Rohit Sharma in the pre-match press conference.

ALSO READ: “Aap Lucknow ke naye nawab hain” – Aakash Chopra on Rishabh Pant’s appointment as LSG captain

While talking about India’s fast-bowling line-up, a lot will depend on how the speedster Mohammed Shami bowls in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, especially with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana still in their learning phase as well. And, Rohit said that the focus of the Indian team was to get Shami back on the field at any cost.

“Shami has played only two (ODI) games and a couple of T20Is. All we wanted with Shami was to get him back wearing the Indian colours more than anything else. Whether he gets wickets or not, that was completely immaterial for us at that point. We wanted him to return to playing for India, and he has done that. Whatever I have seen of him so far looks perfectly fine. When you talk about a bowler like Shami, who has done the job for us over the years, it is just about getting back to rhythm,” Rohit Sharma shared.

“For him also it was important to get back playing and get back into that rhythm. The two games that he played, again, the numbers will not show. With certain players, you don’t have to look at numbers so much in detail. It is just about getting back to playing; the numbers will come, which is what our faith is in as captain and coach. Whatever prep he has had coming here, he looks good and confident in what he wants to do. If these two guys are in form, the team looks very good,” Rohit Sharma concluded.