Varun Chakaravarthy has played 27 List A games and 106 T20s since his professional debut in September 2018. During this period, he left enough impression with his performances to merit an India call-up. Varun was part of India’s forgettable 2021 T20 World Cup campaign where they were eliminated in the group-stage itself. His own performance came under heavy scrutiny.
Varun went back to the drawing board to work on his shortcomings and the results are evident. Today, he is an ICC Champions Trophy winner – a tournament where he played a vital role in the team’s invincible run to the title. With nine wickets, he finished as the joint highest-wicket taker of the tournament which included a five-wicket haul against New Zealand during a group match.
Interestingly, Varun, who represents Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, has just one first-class match to his credit – against Hyderabad in November 2018. And despite his interest in playing Test cricket, the 33-year-old says there’s a big reason why he may not be able to pursue his red-ball ambitions.
“I do (have an interest in Tests), but my bowling style doesn’t suit Test cricket,” he said in a podcast with Gobinath on his YouTube channel. “Mine is almost like medium pace. In Test cricket, you’ve to continuously bowl 20-30 overs. I can’t do that in my bowling. Since I bowl quick, the maximum I can bowl is 10-15 overs which is not suited for red ball. I am focusing on 20 overs and 50 overs white ball cricket for now.
