Gambhir told to use his Champions Trophy trump card for England Tests in startling suggestion: ‘It’s a swollen nerve…’

After answering his critics with a Champions Trophy haul on Sunday in Dubai, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has his eyes set on the next nig assignment – Test tour of England – slated to begin in late June, which will mark the beginning of the new World Test Championship cycle. Ahead of the tour, which will be preceded by an arduous IPL 2025 season, Gambhir has been sent a startling suggestion on team selection.

Speaking on Sports Today, former India cricketer Navjot Singh urged Gambhir to use his Champions Trophy trump card to gain an advantage over Ben Stokes’ men and help India secure their first Test series win in England since 2007. Sidhu suggested India to pick Varun Chakravarthy for the tour as he reminded Gambhir of England’s vulnerability against mystery spin.

“Mystery spinners are England’s weakness. It’s a swollen nerve for England. Will you leave out Varun Chakravarthy? No, you will have to play him. Or you will play Kuldeep Yadav with his high-end deliveries from both ends, they can’t read him,” Sidhu said.

Notably, Varun emerged as India’s best bowler in the tournament despite having played just three games. He finished with nine wickets in three matches, including a five-wicket haul, at an economy rate of under five.

Despite his white-ball exploits, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is unlikely to consider Varun for the Test tour, given that the Tamil Nadu bowler played just one First Class match in his career back in 2018.

Gambhir’s ‘A’ plan for England tour

According to a Times of India report, Gambhir has already devised a plan to get a head start on his preparations for the England tour as he is set to accompany the India ‘A’ team on a visit to the country, which will be played before the senior team’s five-match contest. The move aims at the former India opener to prepare his reserve pool for the campaign.

“Gambhir has been in discussions with the BCCI since he returned from Australia. He has expressed his desire to travel with the India ‘A’ team to get a clearer view of the reserve pool,” a BCCI source told TOI. “With India winning the Champions Trophy after Gambhir’s insistence for certain wild card players, one may expect him to assert more in future.”