NEW DELHI: India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy made a remarkable comeback to the national team after a gap of 1066 days, having last played in India’s disappointing 2021 T20 World Cup campaign. In his return match against Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday, he recorded his best figures of 3 for 31, contributing in India’s seven-wicket victory in the first T20I of the three-match series.
Despite a challenging start, conceding 15 runs in his opening over, Varun bounced back by dismissing Towhid Hridoy in his second over and Jaker Ali in his third.
Following the match, Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir was observed having an extensive discussion with Chakravarthy.
The 33-year-old spinner, who recently worked with Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL 2024 season, was joined by bowling coach Mornel Morkel as they continued their conversation off the field.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri speculated on the nature of the discussion, saying: “You can see Varun Chakaravarthy having a chat with Gautam Gambhir. He took three wickets. Gautam could have seen a lot of him at KKR as well. He’s probably just telling him about either the pace at which he was bowling, or the fields which he should bowl. Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, is also there and he will tactically add a lot to Varun’s game.”
Varun has had a memorable year, emerging as the highest wicket-taker for IPL champions KKR with 21 wickets from 14 matches.
He later played for the R Ashwin-led Dindigul Dragons, who won the Tamil Nadu Premier League, finishing with 12 wickets, joint-most for the team and fifth overall. These impressive performances helped him earn a spot back in the Indian team after three years.
“After three long years and… it was definitely emotional for me, and it feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth,” Varun said after the match.
“Once you are not in the Indian side, people tend to write you off very easily. You need to stay in the highest level, again and again you need to keep knocking the door. Thankfully, this time it happened and hopefully I can keep continuing my good work,” he said.