Varun Chakaravarthy, India’s mystery spinner, who picked up seven wickets in the Asia Cup 2025, is set to feature in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia starting October 29. He identified some of the toughest batters he has bowled to in his career, naming batting greats Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, and the young talent Abhishek Sharma, his teammate from the Asia Cup 2025. Chakaravarthy advised, “Chris Gayle, Virat, and, of late, Abhishek Sharma. You should tell Abhishek next time to try to be soft on the bowlers. Let him bat like this for India, not for SRH,” during the show “Breakfast with Champions.”
An avid chess fan, Chakaravarthy drew a parallel between pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and chess legend Magnus Carlsen, stating that while he might be ranked number one, Bumrah remains the undisputed number one player. He also acknowledged that although he was doing well, he still needed time and effort to reach the level of Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan, saying, “I follow chess now. When Gukesh won the championship, he told I might be the World Champion right now, but everyone knows Magnus Carlsen is the number one player. So I might be ranked number one, but the number one is always Jasprit Bumrah. There are Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan. I am doing well, but still some time to go before I can reach that stage.”
Career
Since making his international debut in 2021, Varun has played four ODIs and 24 T20Is, taking 10 wickets in ODIs and 40 wickets in T20Is. After facing criticism for his performance in the 2021 T20 World Cup, he made a comeback with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL. He was part of India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and Asia Cup 2025 winning squads.
The India T20I squad for the upcoming series against Australia comprises Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
Before T20I Series, India will play ODI series against Australia
India vs Australia ODI Series Schedule
October 19 (Sunday): 1st ODI – Perth Stadium, Perth
October 23 (Thursday): 2nd ODI – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
October 25 (Saturday): 3rd ODI – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney