Champions Trophy semi-final: Will India play four spinners against Australia?
What's the story
Ahead of India's 2025 ICC Champions Trophy semi-final clash against Australia, India captain Rohit Sharma has not confirmed if his team will field four spinners.
This uncertainty comes after India's recent win over New Zealand, where they managed to pull off the same strategy.
Despite the success of this approach, Rohit has said that he will wait until the day before the match to finalize his decision.
Success
Chakravarthy's performance has made four-spinner strategy appealing
The team's latest combination, featuring four spinners, worked wonders against New Zealand.
Varun Chakravarthy, who was a last-minute inclusion in the squad in place of Yashasvi Jaiswal, registered a brilliant five-wicket haul that powered India to victory.
Rohit lauded Chakravarthy's performance but refrained from promising him a place in the semi-final team.
Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja also featured alongside Chakravarthy in the New Zealand match.
Adaptability
Rohit emphasizes adaptability to pitch conditions
Rohit stressed the need to adapt to the pitch conditions while deciding the team's bowling strategy.
He said, "We are very much aware of the conditions, and we know exactly what works and what doesn't work."
The Indian sipper also pointed out that conditions are different across matches.
Information
India's Playing XI that faced NZ
India's Playing XI from NZ match: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy.
Opponent respect
Rohit acknowledges Australia's strong track record
Rohit also acknowledged Australia's impressive track record in ICC tournaments and their superior head-to-head record against India.
However, he emphasized that the team knows what they are up against.
"It's a great opposition to play against... We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that," he said, indicating his team's respect for their opponents while also expressing confidence in their own abilities.
Venue response
Rohit responds to venue advantage allegations
Responding to allegations that his side gets an unfair advantage by playing all their matches in Dubai, Rohit explained that every pitch has behaved differently in every game.
He said, "The three matches we played, the nature of the surface was the same. But in all three games, the pitch has behaved differently."
The Indian team made it to the semi-final after defeating Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand in their Group A matches in Dubai.