Champions Trophy / This is why Rohit has chosen five spinners - he has made a great plan

Champions Trophy: The Indian cricket team has reached Dubai for the Champions Trophy 2025. The team suffered a major setback just before the tournament when fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out due to injury. Apart from this, the BCCI also dropped young batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal from the team and replaced him with 'mystery spinner' Varun Chakraborty. Since this decision, there is a heated discussion among cricket lovers and experts that despite the presence of four spinners already, why did the team management choose the fifth spinner? And will this strategy prove to be correct on the Dubai pitch that helps fast bowlers?

5 spinners included in Team India

Apart from Varun Chakraborty, the Indian squad already included four major spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar. Of these, except Kuldeep Yadav, the other three players also play the role of all-rounder, which gives balance to the team.

Spinners will benefit in day matches

The Indian team will play all its matches of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Usually the pitch of this ground gives more help to the fast bowlers, but in certain conditions spinners can also prove to be effective. All the matches of India will start at 2:30 pm, and the weather will be relatively dry at this time. Like the Indian subcontinent, the pitch of Dubai also breaks slowly, due to which spinners are likely to get extra turn and bounce.

Effect of stadium structure on the pitch

The structure of Dubai International Cricket Stadium also affects the behavior of the pitch. According to former UAE coach and Indian cricketer Robin Singh, the design of the stadium is such that sunlight falls directly on the pitch between 3 and 4 pm. However, the pitch does not remain in the sun for long, due to which it starts slowing down and spinners get the advantage.

Importance of additional spinner seen in ILT20 2025

The importance of spin bowlers was also seen in the ILT20 2025 league played recently in Dubai. Head coach of the winning team of this league, Dubai Capitals and former Indian cricketer Hemang Badani told that initially his team was playing with four fast bowlers and two spinners. However, as the tournament progressed, the pitch became slow and they had to include an additional spinner in the team.

Is Team India's strategy right?

The Indian team management has taken this decision keeping in mind the experience and conditions. However, it remains to be seen how successful this move of including five spinners will be on the Dubai pitch, which is considered favorable for fast bowlers. If the pitch is dry and slow during the match, then the spinners can put pressure on the opposition team.

Team India's Champions Trophy Squad

• Captain: Rohit Sharma
• Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill
• Wicketkeeper: KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant
• Spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty, Washington Sundar
• Fast bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
• All-rounder: Hardik Pandya
• Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer

The result of this strategy of the Indian team will be known only in the matches of the Champions Trophy, but it is clear that the team management has taken this decision after deeply analyzing the circumstances. Now it remains to be seen whether this strategy of spinners helps Team India win the Champions Trophy or not.