Varun Chakravarthy- I'm sorry

Sunday, 24th October 2021. I wake up crusty eyed from the previous night's clubbing escapades, living my university life to the “fullest”. With a spinning head and aching body, I had no energy to actually get out of bed. I see the time is roughly 1pm and I have to be at a pub in an hour. Not for a drink, oh god no.

But I had to go for the sake of my reputation. India was playing Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup, with my university's Indian society organising a viewing at the pub. As the man who "knows a lot about cricket" and for choosing the venue, I had to at least show my face. I dragged my feet to the pub, reaching roughly over an hour late, with the hangover making cricket the least of my concerns.

As the Indian team came out onto the field in the second innings, the blue sea in the pub cheered at deafening volumes, as if nails were being shoved into my eardrums. I looked around the pub and saw the audience present. Individuals whose levels of patriotism surge into overdrive whenever India takes on Pakistan. 

But something different happened on that day. In mere moments, all chanting died. The only noise erupting was from the three Pakistani fans who were quietly watching the match in the back. In a rare outcome, India was crushed by Pakistan by ten wickets, giving Pakistan their first win over India in the history of the T20 World Cup. The reason for this extensive intro was to set the scene of the sheer frustration I was already feeling that day, which was exacerbated by one man- Varun Chakravarthy.

Varun Chakravarthy may not be the main culprit responsible that day for that horrendous defeat, but he was the one player I personally deemed in my incredibly hungover eyes as "awful". I saw a leg spinner, who could not spin the ball in any direction, giving school yard deliveries on the dead Dubai wickets to the likes of Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan. In the three appearances he made at the 2021 T20 World Cup, Chakravarthy conceded 71 runs and took no wickets. Criticizing Chakravarthy seemed like a national pastime after the competition as he did not return to the international scene until 2024.

Plagued by injuries after and well into his thirties, it seemed that Varun Chakravarthy would never again be seen in an Indian jersey. However, like a phoenix from the ashes, Chakravarthy rose back up to the spotlight. Prior to his 2024 recall, he finished as the second highest wicket taker in the 2024 IPL season with 21 wickets, and even won the title with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Returning in the Indian blue saw his form take off. He took a whopping 31 wickets in just 12 T20Is across three bilateral series in 2024/25. Even in the domestic setting, Chakravarthy delivered, taking 18 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu.

This great form saw him get a well earned spot in the Indian squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. But this is where my doubts were raised once again. While on an impressive run of form, Chakravarthy was yet to prove himself in the ODI format, only playing his debut ODI just prior to the Champions Trophy. Furthermore, he would once again return to the ground that buried his international career in Dubai, a pitch where his bounce-reliant style of bowling would not work optimally.

However, Chakravarthy has officially proved his haters wrong. After a struggling start against New Zealand with the bat in the final group game of the Champions Trophy, India set up a total of 250 for the Kiwis. Despite the early wicket of Rachin Ravindra, Will Young and Kane Williamson looked set to see this through. In came Chakravarthy in the 12th over, leaving Young standing stunned by a glorious googly crashing into the stumps from the thick edge of the bat.

Still with the experience of Williamson and a low required run-rate, the 250 was not too far off. Chakravarthy then came in obliterating the lower middle order, trapping both Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell for LBWs. Then for the final nails in the coffin, Chakravarthy bowled captain Mitchell Santner and then completed his fiver with Matt Henry, who attempted to swing big on Chakravarthy's dipped bowling only to be caught by Virat Kohli at mid off. He finished the game with impressive figures of 5/42.

This performance is truly a testament to the statement of 'never give up'. Through great effort and work, Chakravarthy carved a place for himself in this Indian team. With this win, India has now secured a meeting with Australia in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy. With this performance Chakravarthy has surely booked his spot in the starting XI and can hopefully be the key to India’s Champions Trophy campaign.