“I personally feel is a bit too much” - Dinesh Karthik baffled with India’s five-spinner strategy for Champions Trophy

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is confused with the Indian selection committee’s decision to go ahead with five spinners in the 15-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to start on February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

Notably, the current Indian squad boasts spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Varun Chakravarthy. Varun was the latest addition to the squad after the exclusion of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

In his exclusive conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik was baffled by this decision as the team was not sure of what exactly to do with the five-spinner strategy. Moreover, he didn’t understand the reason behind replacing an opener with a spinner.

“Five spinners, I personally feel, is a bit too much. They could have done with 4, I felt. And that’s where I do think it shows a little bit of, not confusion, which is probably a strong word, but not being very sure of what exactly to do because they announced a squad and then they added another spinner for an opener,” Dinesh Karthik told Cricbuzz.

Karthik also asserted that Mohammed Siraj, who has been axed from the ODI squad, could’ve replaced injured Jasprit Bumrah. He also stated that Indian team is currently backing Harshit Rana, who did well in the England ODI series, more than Siraj.

“Look, if you had to go with experience, then yes, Siraj could have been the ideal choice, but I thought Harshit bowled very well against England. What I feel is the Indian camp is very impressed with Harshit Rana. I think Harshit Rana was the debate, but I feel Team India backs him right now more than Siraj,” Karthik added.

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.

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

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