Varun Chakravarthy has made a dream comeback to International Cricket. Varun has taken 13 wickets from 5 T20Is at an average of 8.84. Let’s deep dive into the reasons behind his strong comeback.
Varun Chakravarthy’s comeback story to T20Is, or even his life, in general, is the stuff made of legends. He was an architect till 25 before he left his job to pursue cricket professionally. He had even starred in a film as a club cricketer. He got into domestic cricket in 2018 for Tamil Nadu and bagged an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) next year itself.
He started impressing as a mystery spinner before getting his maiden T20I cap in 2021. After a series of no shows in T20Is, he was dropped and went back to domestic cricket to grind it out. After two successful IPL seasons for KKR, he was called back to the T20I squad. And boy, what a comeback, he took a fifer in his fifth T20I, on his return to international cricket.
A look at his stats of his bowling in T20Is before and after his return shows a massive improvement as a wicket-taking bowler.
| Timelines | Matches | Wickets | Average | Strike Rate | Eco |
| Before 2024 | 6 | 2 | 66.00 | 67.50 | 5.86 |
| In 2024 | 5 | 13 | 8.84 | 9.20 | 5.75 |
The figures reveal the massive improvement in his bowling numbers on return. It was his performances in IPL 2021 where he bagged 18 wickets that made the selectors hand him a T20I cap. But all he took was 2 wickets in 6 games, and was dropped unceremoniously. He was wicketless in the three games he played in the 2021 World T20 where India was ousted from the group stage itself.
He went back to domestic cricket, playing various tournaments, sorted out the little technicalities in his bowling and was back to taking wickets. In the last two seasons of the IPL, Chakravarthy has bagged 42 wickets (20 scalps in 2023 IPL and 21 wickets in 2024 IPL) for KKR. It was just a matter of time that Chakravarthy made a comeback to T20Is.
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He showed signs of being his best in the Bangladesh series when he bagged 5 wickets in 3 games. But he reserved his best for the South Africa series where he has already bagged 8 wickets in two games. The 2nd T20I at Gqeberha showed his true class as a mystery spinner where he bamboozled and fooled the opposition batters with his variations and clever bowling. He took the big wickets of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen in both games as the Proteas had no answer to Chakravarthy’s mystery bowling.
His variations were in full display in the second match. He dismissed Reeza Hendricks; bowled via a googly as the batter played for the turn. Captain Aiden Markram was also bowled with a wrong one. Klaasen fell trying to attack Chakravarthy as he struggled to read the spinner off the hand. Miller had no answer to a ball that straightened up after pitching and had his stumps shattered. Overall, it was a masterful display of spin bowling on a pitch that was conducive for pace bowling.
An effective change to add to the mystery
Chakravarthy admitted to changing his style to bowling overspin from the side spin as the former gets sharp bounce and turn, while the latter derives more revolutions and drifts sideways. “The overspin I bowl has more bite from the pitch,” he said. “It took me two years and I started bowling that in the local leagues, TNPL, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL also. It worked out there, so I’ve started bowling it on the international stage and it’s working out for me,” he added.
He also said the role clarity in the team has helped him achieve success. “He (coach Gautam Gambhir) told me even if you go for 30, 40 runs, it doesn’t matter. All you have to look for is to pick wickets. So that’s your role in the team,” Varun said. “More than confidence, I would say I’m more focusing towards clarity and that’s helping me more right now.”
With the 2026 World T20 to begin in over a year, Varun Chakravarthy has had a great start to his comeback. But he faces stiff competition for a place in the XI. There are quality spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel who are vying for the same spot in the XI. Chakravarthy has to be consistent and keep taking wickets to not only be the first-choice spinner in the XI but also get another shot at redemption in the next World T20.
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