Champions Trophy: Has India taken the right decision in picking 5 spinners?

India will play all their matches of the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Dubai. In a surprising move, BCCI has selected as many as five spinners in the team. Several fans and experts have a put a question mark over this move.

As per the statistics also, India got their strategy wrong with pacers having more influence in the recently-ended 2024/25 season, picking 68 per cent (116/1170) of the wickets across 15 matches at the Dubai International Stadium, where the Men in Blue will play all their Champions Trophy games. 

Since hosting its first ODI match in 2009, Dubai International Stadium has witnessed 25 games, pacers have ruled the roost by taking 57 per cent of the wickets (183/321), though the spinners have controlled the run-scoring with an impressive economy rate of 4.63. 

The equation has remained largely the same (58% for pacers) across matches since 2017, although the usage of spinners have been more in terms of overs bowled (50%). 

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As per the data, the four big venues in the UAE, the new balls swings the least in Dubai (0.74%), but the grass on the pitch means pacers will get a good bounce (73 cm) off good-length deliveries.

Hence, many experts feel that lack of pacers in the Indian team may hamper Team India’s performance in the mega event.