When the India squad for Champions Trophy 2025 was announced, India had included Jasprit Bumrah in the squad, who was not fully fit and still nursing an injury. When India’s Premier bowler could not recover on time, India was in a fix, and fans had written off India’s chance in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Tamil Nadu leg Spinner, Varun Chakravarthy was drafted into the team. Rohit Sharma and the coach were heavily criticized by experts and ex-players for adding a spinner to replace a pacer when the India squad already had Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel. India was short on pacers and had even decided to sit out experienced Mohammed Siraj.

After not playing the initial two games, India selected Varun Chakravarthy, dropping a pacer for the New Zealand clash. Varun took this opportunity with both hands and delivered a match-winning Fifer in his 10 overs. India beat New Zealand by 44 runs.

Varun also played a key role in the semifinals, picking up 2 crucial wickets, including the most important wicket of Travis Head, India’s menace in ICC events lately. With India in the finals, fans hope Varun will continue his golden run and help India lift their 3^rd ICC Champions Trophy Title.

Varun Chakravarthy’s Cricket Journey: From Architect to Cricketer

So, who is Varun Chakravarthy? How did a 33-year-old debut into the national team at such a age?

Varun Chakravarthy has taken 33 wickets in 18 T20 matches at an average of 14.57 and an economy rate of 7.02, with best figures of 5/17.

During his school days, Varun Chakravarthy cricket journey began as a fast bowler and a part-time wicketkeeper.

Cricket went into the back burner as Varun made education as his priority, doing a five-year course in architecture and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in architecture from SRM University.

After 2 years as a professional architect in a construction firm, Varun introspected if he had been honest to his first love, ‘Cricket’ which prompted him to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a professional cricketer. He informed his employers, determined to start afresh and pursue his ultimate goal.

He moved to spin after a couple of injuries and believed that he would be more successful in this trait and may be his answer to play cricket at the highest level.

Varun, 9 years later, after doing well in domestic cricket, including the IPL and few International T20s is now playing an important role in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.

Varun Chakravarthy Bowling Stats

Varun Chakravarthy’s Rise Through Domestic and IPL Cricket

Domestic Player Varun Chakravarthy served as a net bowler for Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, which caught the eye of IPL Scouts.

Varun Chakravarthy, in 2019, secured a lucrative Rs 8.4 crore contract with Punjab Kings. Unfortunately, an injury restricted his participation in the 2019 IPL, with him playing only 1 game in the season.

Kolkata Knight Riders acquired the Varun Chakravarthy mystery spinner in the following year, and Varun continues to play for the Franchise since.

A quick breakdown of performance with KKR

• IPL 2020: 17 wickets
• IPL 2021: 18 wickets

Just five years after becoming a professional cricketer, Varun was part of the 2021 T20 World Cup squad in the UAE. But the selection then proved costly and did not pay off for Team India losing to Pakistan for the first time in World Cup to their arch rival Pakistan.

A Hard-Fought Comeback

After the T20 World Cup debacle, Varun lost his place in the Indian team but did not lose heart for being dropped.

He was determined to fight his way back to play for India.

In the process, he experimented with his action to bring out the most effective bowling style he was comfortable with.

These small changes in his bowling style worked wonders, adding new dimensions to his game.

With competition for every spot in the team, being a 33-year-old making a comeback was not an easy feat.

The Indian team and domestic cricket is not short of spinners, making Varun’s comeback nothing short of a miracle.

A lot of credit needs to be given to the coach and Rohit Sharma for putting their faith in Varun Chakravarthy, and we at SuperSports360 wish Varun Chakravarthy the very best for the coming years.