'Mystery' is a word that always brings a sense of excitement with it. In cricket too, mystery bowlers over the years have brought with them a sense of anticipation and thrill among the cricketing fraternity. The same gusto was seen in Indian cricketing circles when Varun Chakravarthy started making inroads in Indian cricket as a mystery spinner. Varun started his cricket journey as a wicketkeeper-batter but left cricket to concentrate on his studies in college. He completed the Architecture degree and started working as a freelance Architect after that. At the age of 25, he decided to quit his job to pursue a career as a professional cricketer.
Varun Chakravarthy then joined CromBest Cricket Club as a seam-bowling all-rounder but a knee injury forced him to eventually become a spinner. The move turned out to be a masterstroke as he started making all the right noises as a mystery spinner in 2017-18 when he picked 31 wickets in seven games in a one-day competition for Jubilee Cricket Club. Varun started working on his variations and slowly started moving up through the ranks of Tamil Nadu Cricket. He came into the spotlight during the 2018 Tamil Nadu T20 League as he played a major role in Madurai clinching the title that year. It turned out to be a breakthrough season for the young spinner as Varun got an opportunity to bowl as a net bowler for KKR in IPL. He made his List A debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was the leading wicket-taker for Tamil Nadu that season as he picked 22 wickets in 9 games.
Varun was selected by KKR for the 2020 edition of the IPL. He straightaway made an impact and picked 17 wickets in the tournament and was so impressive that he received his maiden India call-up for the Australia tour in the same year, however due to fitness concerns was ruled out. Varun went on to make his debut for Team India against Sri Lanka in 2021. On the back of another impressive year of IPL in 2021, Varun was picked in the Indian T2O World Cup 2021 Squad. He was retained by KKR for the 2023 season and delivered his best season by picking 20 wickets. Varun walks into the 2024 season as one of the most experienced spinners KKR has after the veteran Sunil Narine and will be looking forward to delivering yet another fantastic performance.
