Varun Chakravarthy’s rise to the top has been like something out of a fairy tale. The Karnataka-born mystery spinner has seen a lot in his comparatively short career, from almost giving up cricket to becoming a Crorepati two times in a row.
Career
Domestic career
Varun made his List A debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on September 20, 2018, and quickly established himself as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with twenty-two dismissals in nine games. On the 12th of November 2018, the mystery spinner made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy. His rise to the top started in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, where he was a member of the Siechem Madurai Panthers during the 2018 season.
His outstanding bowling helped Madurai win its first title that year, and it was here that talent scouts from around the country first saw the spinner.
Varun bowled 40 overs in all, with 125 balls being dots. He had the highest economy rate of any bowler who had bowled at least 15 overs, at 4.7. Varun is one of the most promising stars, according to CSK’s batting coach Michael Hussey, who served as a commentator in the TNPL earlier this year.
IPL Career
Varun Chakravarthy was the talk of the town after his exploits in the TNPL in 2018, and in the IPL auctions, the then 27-year-old spinner hit the jackpot when Kings XI Punjab paid INR 8.4 crore, 42 times his base price of INR 20 lakh, to secure his services. Varun, on the other hand, only played one game for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL 2019 before being injured for a long time due to a finger fracture.
Varun got lucky in the auctions for the second time, during an injury-plagued season, when Kolkata Knight Riders paid INR 4 crore (USD 563,000 approx.) for his seven variations in the 2019 IPL auctions. Knight Riders beat out Royal Challengers Bangalore for his services. Varun Chakravarthy will be raring to go this season on the gritty, old tracks of UAE, and if anything falls into line, 2020 may be his breakthrough year.
Background
Varun was a wicketkeeper-batsman when he was seventeen years old. After being turned down for age-group cricket numerous times, he obtained an architectural degree and later worked as a freelancer. However, he became obsessed with it and transformed into a mystery spinner.