“I feel a bit uncomfortable with the team” - Ravi Ashwin reveals his major concern with Team India ahead of Champions Trophy

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has disclosed his concerns with the Indian squad announced for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to start on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

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Ashwin asserted that going into the showpiece event with five spinners in the squad is making him uncomfortable. He also gave an example of the recently concluded ILT20 2025 tournament, which didn’t help spinners a lot in Dubai.

“What I don’t understand is the number of spinners we are taking to Dubai. Five spinners and we have made Yashasvi Jaiswal sit out. Yes, I understand that we take three or four spinners for a tour. But five spinners in Dubai? I don’t know. I think we are one spinner too many if not two,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Ashwin stated that Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy will form the spin bowling pair in the starting XI as both spinners are in good form. 

“I don’t think there is any doubt that Kuldeep Yadav will walk into the team. So how will you make space for Varun. Is he bowling well? Of course. Either you bring in Varun and Kuldeep as a duo, which I feel would be good. But my question is, in Dubai, are you expecting the ball to turn? In the recently held ILT20, we saw that the ball was not turning that much in Dubai and teams were chasing 180-run totals with ease. I feel a bit uncomfortable with the team,” he added.

Notably, the Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, has picked Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravindra Jadeja as five spin bowling options for the showpiece event.

India’s squad for ICC Champions Trophy, 2025: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohd. Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Varun Chakaravarthy.

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Non-traveling substitutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, and Shivam Dube. 

The three players will travel to Dubai as and when required.

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