The Indian team has announced its squad for the ODI series against England as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but Varun Chakraborty's name was nowhere in this list. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav have been included in the Indian team as the only spinners. Due to the unavailability of Jasprit Bumrah in the ODI series, Varun Chakraborty has been included in the team.
Varun Chakraborty has played only 18 T20I matches for India so far and has not yet made his debut in ODIs. His performance last year was quite impressive. He played a total of 7 T20I matches in 2024, taking 17 wickets. In the recently concluded series against England, he took 14 wickets in five matches in the T20I series and was the Man of the Series.
After his inclusion in the ODI setup, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra, on his YouTube channel, said that the Indian team should not keep him away from the playing XI. He said,
"This is also a big deal because Varun Chakravarthy was in my original team. I felt Varun should have been kept because you won't need too many finger spinners, and wrist spinners can actually have more impact. However, the selectors didn't pick him."
Further, he said,
"Now you have suddenly picked Varun Chakravarthy here. Since you have decided to use his current great form, which I think is the right thing to do, you have to play him here now. You can't make him sit on the bench. You can't call someone from outside to have tea. Now that you have come, you have to play."