Former Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his discomfort with the changes made by the BCCI's selection committee to the Champions Trophy squad after Jasprit Bumrah was sidelined. Joining the chorus of critics, Ashwin questioned the decision to include an excess of spinners for the upcoming campaign in Dubai, which kicks off next week.

The provisional squad featured four spinners: left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, off-spinner Washington Sundar, and leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. With the team already facing backlash for having one fewer fast bowler, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, opted to add another spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, at the expense of batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was moved to the reserves.

On his YouTube channel, Ashwin voiced his confusion over the squad adjustments, suggesting that India might be carrying at least two spinners too many.

"What I can't wrap my head around is the number of spinners we're taking to Dubai. Five spinners and we've left Yashasvi Jaiswal out. I get that we usually take three or four spinners on a tour, but five in Dubai? It just doesn't make sense to me."

"I think we have one spinner too many, if not two. The two left-arm spinners are our top all-rounders alongside Hardik Pandya. So, both Axar and Jadeja will definitely play, along with Hardik and Kuldeep. If you want Varun Chakravarthy in the mix, someone has to sit out, and you might need to use Hardik as a second pacer. Otherwise, you’ll have to drop a spinner to bring in a third seamer," Ashwin added.

'Are you looking forward to the ball happening in Dubai?'

Ashwin is all for Kuldeep stepping into the playing XI without any worries, but he pointed out that this means Varun will have to sit out. The big question raised by the recently-retired player is whether India is anticipating spin-friendly conditions in Dubai.

"I have no doubt that Kuldeep Yadav will be in the team. But how do you fit Varun in? He’s bowling well, no doubt. You could bring both Varun and Kuldeep in together, which I think could work. But my concern is, are we expecting the ball to turn in Dubai? I’m feeling a bit uneasy about the team setup," Ashwin mentioned.

With no practice matches lined up, India will kick off their Champions Trophy journey on February 20 against Bangladesh.

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