New Delhi: ‘Mystery spinner’ is a much-repeated term used in cricket, one that evokes both excitement and scoff at the same time. Once the dust settles after the euphoria over the Champions Trophy win, Varun Chakaravarthy, perhaps, will agree that the turn of events—from initially not being part of India’s provisional squad to jointly become the highest Indian wicket-taker with nine wickets—is a mystery in itself.
For the Karnataka-born legbreak googly bowler, it is a story of redemption. In 2021, he had a forgettable T20 World Cup campaign in Dubai, going wicketless in three matches and ultimately being dropped from the playing XI. However, since that setback, the spinner has undergone a remarkable transformation.
His stellar performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic white-ball tournaments caught the attention of selectors, earning him a spot in the T20I team. In fact, the Tamil Nadu spinner had made news when Kings XI Punjab shelled Rs 8.4 crore for the uncapped cricketer in 2019.
Now, he has become an indispensable part of India’s T20I squad given his stock as a ‘mystery’ spinner, who boasts of having leg-break, off-break, googly and the ‘carrom ball’ in his bowling arsenal.
Considered a T20 specialist, the tall spinner made his much-awaited One Day International (ODI) debut against England at Cuttack in February. At 33, Chakravarthy became India’s second-oldest player, after wicket-keeper-batsman Farokh Engineer, to debut in ODIs, proving that his journey is far from over.
Chakaravarthy made his Champions Trophy debut versus New Zealand in the final Group A clash, a match where he scalped five wickets as India successfully defended 249 runs.
Despite not playing the first two matches, he ended the campaign as the joint-top wicket-taker for India. Pacer Mohammed Shami, who featured in all five matches, also finished with 9 wickets. Overall, Chakaravarthy bowled 30 overs and gave away 136 runs, as per ESPNcricinfo. He averaged 15.11 with an economy rate of 4.53.
Against Australia in the semi-final, the right-arm spinner became fans’ favourite as he dismissed the dangerous Travis Head, who was on a roll with a39-run knock in just 33 balls. Later on, he dismissed Ben Dwarshuis and returned with bowling figures of 2/49.
On Sunday, in the title clash against New Zealand, Chakaravarthy picked 2/45. Notably, the Kiwis were off to a strong start, adding 57 runs for the first wicket. However, he got the breakthrough by dismissing opening batsman Will Young.
Varun Chakaravarthy traps Will Young LBW to hand India the opening breakthrough 👊
Catch the Final Live in India on @StarSportsIndia
Here are the global broadcast details: https://t.co/S0poKnxpTX#ChampionsTrophy #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/xKKBwj7AmQ
— ICC (@ICC) March 9, 2025
Next was the dangerous Glenn Phillips, who scored 34 runs.
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‘World-class bowler’
Chakaravarthy’s performance has earned him praises from fans and cricket experts alike. Former Indian opener Murali Vijay, in a conversation with PTI, called Chakravarthy a “world-class bowler”.
“He is on the verge of becoming a world-class bowler in ODIs and T20s because it is a very rare commodity to bowl the carrom balls and flippers and having that kind of control, which is fantastic to watch,” he added.
Ahead of the final clash, former England skipper and cricket pundit Nasser Hussain had also warned New Zealand to be wary of the spinner.
“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,” Hussain said on Sky Sports.
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, in a media event, had said that Chakravarthy is a different player following the 2021 World Cup.
“The way he left in 2021 and the way he has come back, there are two different Varun Chakaravarthys,” Yadav said. “He has become a little tough mentally, yet he is smiling a lot and taking everything in his stride irrespective of what happens on the field which is very good from a cricketer’s point of view.”
Former spinner Harbhajan Singh, reacting to Varun’s match-winning performance against New Zealand in the Group A clash, said, “Varun 2.0 looks confident.”
“(It) is visible from his performances. When he did well for KKR, we thought he would bowl similarly for India in international cricket, but he couldn’t handle the pressure and was dropped. After a good series against England, he cemented his place on the team,” Singh told Crictoday.
Architect by degree, film under his belt
Today, Varun Chakaravarthy is a household name, but few people know that he was once an actor as well as an architect before becoming India’s ‘mystery’ spinner.
In 2014, he had a cameo role in ‘Jeeva,’ a Tamil sports drama. The film showcased a cricketer’s battle against adversity, much like his real-life struggle to establish himself in professional cricket. He also made an appearance on the popular cooking reality show, Cooku with Comali.
Chakaravarthy pursued a career in architecture, earning a Bachelor’s degree from SRM University. He worked as a freelance architect before deciding to leave it all behind and take a leap of faith into professional cricket at the age of 25.
Still, things didn’t come easy. Chakaravarthy started his cricketing journey not as a bowler but as a wicketkeeper-batsman, joining CromBest Cricket Club as a seam-bowling all-rounder. However, after a knee injury, he reinvented himself as a spinner, a decision that paid off well.
His breakthrough came in the 2017-18 season, when he took 31 wickets in seven games for Jubilee Cricket Club in a one-day tournament. Impressive performances in Tamil Nadu’s domestic circuit, especially in the 2018 Tamil Nadu Premier League, caught the attention of IPL organisers.
His IPL debut came in 2019 when Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). But, injuries and inconsistency limited his appearances.
Chakaravarthy got a second chance in 2020, when KKR picked him up—and he delivered the goods as he claimed 17 wickets, including a memorable five-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals. Since then his returns have been on the rise barring once—18 wickets (2021), 6 (2022), 20 (2023), and 21 (2024). Last year, he was instrumental in KKR clinching the IPL title for the third time.
“We certainly expect him to play after getting 5/42 against us in the last game. He’s a class bowler, and showed his skills against us last time and he’s a big threat in the game,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead had told reporters. “So we’ll be putting our thinking caps on around how we nullify that and how we can still score runs against him.”
But such was Chakaravarthy’s grip on the Back Caps on Sunday in Dubai, that he did not concede a single boundary in his 10 overs. The ‘mystery’ tag, truly, vindicated.
(Edited by Tony Rai)