Varun Chakravarthy justified India’s big selection risk by producing a match-winning spell of 5/43 against New Zealand during the 2025 Champions Trophy. With that win, India, led by Rohit Sharma, completed the league stage on a high, winning all three matches and arranging a semi-final contest against Australia on March 4.
India made a courageous choice by selecting Varun Chakravarthy ahead of Harshit Rana, going for a spin attack with four spinners—Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Chakravarthy. Mohammed Shami was the lone specialist pacer, with Hardik Pandya giving some support. The plan succeeded as Indian spinners dominated, claiming nine of the 10 wickets to win by 60 runs.
Playing just his second ODI, Chakravarthy played a key role by dismissing Will Young, Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, and Matt Henry, completely breaking New Zealand’s batting order.
‘Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik were talking to me and that helped’ – Varun Chakravarthy
“First of all I did feel nervous in the initial stages. I have not played many matches for India in the ODI format but as the game went on I felt better. Virat, Rohit, Shreyas and Hardik were talking to me and that helped. (on when he knew he was playing this game) I found out last night. I was definitely expecting to play for the country but on the other side I was nervous. It was not a rank turner, but if you bowled in the right places it was giving help. The way Kuldeep, Jaddu and Axar bowled, even the pace bowlers, it was a total team effort”, Varun said in the post match ceremony, while reflecting on his debut in the Champions Trophy 2025.
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With this incredible performance, Chakravarthy became only the third spinner to take a five-wicket haul in Champions Trophy history, joining Shahid Afridi and Ravindra Jadeja. At 33 years and 185 days, he is the oldest spinner to achieve this milestone and the second-oldest overall after Mohammed Shami, who recently took 5/53 against Bangladesh.
Oldest Spinners to Take a Five-Wicket Haul in Champions Trophy
| Player | Age | Opponent | Spell | Venue |
| Varun Chakravarthy | 33 years, 185 days | New Zealand | 5/43 | Dubai |
| Shahid Afridi | 24 years, 197 days | Kenya | 5/11 | Birmingham |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 24 years, 187 days | West Indies | 5/33 | The Oval |
New Zealand’s Matt Henry also picked up five wickets (5/43) in the same match, but his team lost, making him the first player in Champions Trophy history to take a five-wicket haul and still end up on the losing side.
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Varun Chakravarthy’s spell was also the best by a spinner on his Champions Trophy debut. He became only the third player to take a five-wicket haul in his first match in the tournament, after Josh Hazlewood (6/5 vs New Zealand, 2017) and Mohammed Shami (5/53 vs Bangladesh, 2025).
This was also the first time in the 27-year history of the Champions Trophy that two players took five-wicket hauls in the same match.
