EXPLAINED: Why Rohit Sharma Was Forced To Drop Varun Chakravarthy From India Playing XI For 3rd ODI Vs England

India are currently taking on England in the final ODI of the three-match series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India come into the game having already won the series with victories in the first two matches. One player that fans were eager to see in action before the Champions Trophy 2025 is Varun Chakravarthy who made his debut in the 2nd game before he was drafted in the squad for the mega tournament in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

However, Rohit declared that he was forced to drop the in-form spinner from the playing XI.

After the toss, Rohit Sharma declared that he had made three changes in the India playing XI. He mentioned that he had to unfortunately drop Varun Chakravarthy as he pulled up on the morning of the match with a tight calf. Hence, this injury forced him out of the third match of the series.

In Varun's place, Kuldeep Yadav is playing as the frontline spinner for India at Ahmedabad.

Varun Chakravarthy made his ODI debut in the 2nd ODI vs England, where he picked up a single wicket for 152 runs.

Apart from Varun Chakravarthy India have also made two other changes to their playing XI. Senior players Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami are not playing in this match.

Having already sealed the series, captain Rohit Sharma said that the two senior pros are being given a rest, keeping the Champions Trophy 2025 in mind. In the mega tournament, both Jadeja and Shami will play crucial roles.

In place of them, India have selected Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh. This will be both of their first appearances in the series, having missed both of the previous games.

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.

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