Nasser Hussain warns New Zealand ahead of Champions Trophy final vs India

Former England skipper and cricket pundit Nasser Hussain has warned New Zealand to be wary of India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in the Champions Trophy 2025 final, which will be played in Dubai on Sunday.
Speaking with Michael Atherton and Ian Ward on Sky Sports, Hussain said, “Not many of the New Zealand line-up had seen Varun Chakaravarthy in that group stage. They have now. He is tricky when you’ve not seen him before, so that’s going to be a challenge for them.
India have been playing with four spinners — Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun — and this has seemed to be working in Rohit Sharma’s Men In Blue’s favour on a tacky surface of Dubai.   
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Hussain also heaped praise on India’s spin-bowling set-up and the variety they offer. He said, “They (India’s four spinners) are (all different), and two of them are genuine all-rounders. Before they set off out here, Rohit was asked why you need so many spinners. They’ve got Washington Sundar as well. They could play because New Zealand have got so many left-handers. India might want that extra off-spin option, but they may not change those four.
“They give you so much, but also it’s about the speed. I think in New Zealand, the flight and guile of someone like Mitchell Santner or Adil Rashid here in Dubai as the pitch being a bit slower and lower and turning, you want a slightly quicker spinner. So the likes of Varun, who got a fifer in the last group game against New Zealand, and Ravindra Jadeja are vital,” he added.
Varun regered exceptional figures of 10-0-42-5 against New Zealand during their group-stage match. His Player of the Match performance helped India beat the Kiwis 44 runs.
The mystery spinner, who only played two matches so far in the eight-team tournament, has picked up seven wickets and is in third place in the most-wicket charts behind compatriot Mohammed Shami and New Zealand’s Matt Henry, whose participation in the final is doubtful after sustaining a shoulder injury during the semi-final against South Africa in Lahore.  
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