Ambati Rayudu points out at "Selection Conundrum" for Team India after Varun Chakravarty's heroics

The India Cricket Team will face Australia in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy. This comes after an impressive win over New Zealand in Dubai. The highlights of the show go to Shreyas Iyer’s brilliant 79 run knock and Varun Chakravarthy’s fifer. Ambati Rayudu lauded both the players but claims now a selection conundrum has been created owing to the brilliance of the spinner.

India went on to score 249 on the board against the Kiwis. After an initial batting collapse, it was Shreyas Iyer who pulled on the reins. The star batter hammered a gritty 79 run knock to help India post a mighty total on the board. And then came India’s excellent bowling. Varun Chakravarthy scalped a fifer to ensure a 44 run win for the Men in Blue.

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New Selection conundrum for India?

“Varun was great today. Early in his career, he wasn’t very consistent with his lines and lengths. But now, his bowling makes him a very difficult bowler to face. His action naturally makes it look like he’s delivering left-arm spin, but 90% of his deliveries are googlies, making it tough for batsmen who haven’t faced him before. I don’t think many New Zealand batsmen have played against him much, and he will only continue to improve for India,” Ambati Rayudu said on Jio Hotstar.

Ambati Rayudu went on to lavish praise for Varun Chakravarthy. He claimed that now India will have a massive selection conundrum against Australia. In the match, India rested Harshit Rana and gave a chance to an extra spinner, i.e. Varun Chakravarthy. And the gamble worked as the spinner bagged a fifer.

“His impressive performance might have created a selection dilemma heading into the semi-finals. India will have a tough time deciding, with so many big players to choose from, but Varun Chakravarthy has been brilliant. We’ve seen his impact in India, and all the spinners were outstanding today—Jadeja was amazing, and all four spinners bowled exceptionally well. The pitch definitely assisted them, but New Zealand’s batsmen also struggled against spin, which is an area they will need to improve,” he added.

Shreyas Iyer the man for the hour

“The importance of a No. 4 batsman is evident here. You need someone to play such crucial innings when the top order fails, especially on challenging surfaces that are not easy to bat on. That’s where No. 4 and No. 5 become critical in an ODI game. Shreyas played an amazing innings, and his partnership with Axar Patel was crucial. The ease with which he batted on this pitch was remarkable. He handled short balls well until he got out and played spin beautifully, using the crease and angles to his advantage. He picked the pace of the ball much better than many others in the Indian lineup. It was an unbelievable knock, and he’s been a champion at No. 4. We don’t talk about him enough, but he has had a great impact on this Indian side,” Rayudu concluded.

Cricket ICC Champions Trophy India Cricket Team Ambati Rayudu Shreyas Iyer Varun Chakaravarthy