Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy will play in front of his home crowd on Saturday when India take on England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.. Months after R Ashwin’s retirement, Chennai will welcome another local spinner, this time in the T20I format. Varun Chakravarthy heads into the contest in fine form, having established himself as a key member of the T20I team.
Varun Chakravarthy, who will be playing in front of his home crowd in Chennai for the first time, shed light on his rejuvenated run in the shortest format of the game. Varun played a key role in India’s win in the series opener.
Varun Chakravarthy’s spin a talking point in T20Is for India.
Wrist-spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of India’s bowlers in the 1st T20I against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets as England perished for 132. Varun Chakravarthy also dismissed Jos Buttler, who turned out to be the lone warrior for England with a half-century. Besides a three-fer, Varun Chakravarthy also completed 20 wickets in the shortest format.
As mentioned, Varun Chakravarthy has now raced past 20 wickets in T20I cricket. In 14 T20Is, the leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy now owns 22 scalps at an incredible average of 16.63. Varun Chakravarthy is one of the few Indian players with a five-wicket haul in the format. Varun Chakravarthy made a strong comeback to the international cricket scene with a three-wicket haul against Bangladesh last year.
Tamil Nadu has gifted a reformed and revolutionized Varun Chakravarthy to India’s T20I set-up, neatly coinciding with Ashwin’s retirement from Tests. Since 2024, Varun Chakravarthy has been in stunning form, winning the IPL Purple Cap, being among the top wicket-takers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and making his India comeback with 20 T20I wickets in just eight matches.
Varun Chakravarthy, though on an upward trajectory after being dropped in 2021, is 33 years old, just five years younger to Ashwin. That would make it impossible for him to match the legend’s 14 years of service for India but he has two big World Cups — T20 in 2026 and ODI in 2027 — to aim for.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy said on Saturday that he hasn’t ‘reached a stage’ where he can be compared to recently retired India legend Ravichandran Ashwin. Varun Chakravarthy said he was ‘not even close’ to Ashwin’s achievements for India and for now, just wanted to follow his processes instead of trying to fill the big shoes.
Team India spinner Varun Chakravarthy opens up on comparisons with R Ashwin ahead of 2nd IND vs ENG 2025 T20I
Team India spinner Chakravarthy dismissed comparisons between himself and legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the second T20I against England in Chennai on January 25. Ashwin recently retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
He finished as India’s second-leading wicket-taker overall and in Tests, behind only Anil Kumble. Meanwhile, Varun has enjoyed an incredible resurgence for India in T20Is since last year.
As spinners from Tamil Nadu, Varun has naturally been compared to Ashwin, thanks to his recent heroics in T20Is. However, in the press conference on the eve of the second T20I against England, he dismissed such comparisons.
“Comparing him to me is big. Ashwin has played all three formats. I am just making a comeback. I haven’t reached a stage where I can be compared to him. But still, everybody, when they make it to the Indian team, wants to play for a long time. I am following my process. Let the hard work take me where it can. It’s better that way. I am not thinking about filling someone’s shoes,” Varun said [quoted by India Today].
He added:
“Ashwin’s shoes are big to fill. He has taken 500-plus Test wickets. I am not even close yet.”
Varun Chakravarthy was the Player of the Match in India’s commanding win in the series opener with figures of 3/23 in four overs. He picked up the crucial wickets of Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, and Liam Livingstone to help India restrict England to a sub-par 132 in 20 overs.
“I definitely do that research” – Varun Chakravarthy
Chakravarthy revealed that his preparation for a match includes research on opposition batters, pitch conditions, and relying on his instincts.
The leg-spinner endured a torrid start to his international career with only two wickets in his first six T20Is at an average of 66. However, his last eight T20I games have yielded a remarkable 20 wickets at an average of under 12.
“Initially, the plan will be the same. I will see how they are trying to approach me. It’s all instinctive. Basically, you have certain plans for certain batters, but if they are trying something different, you have to rely on instinct. The first thing is preparation—looking at the batter, understanding their release shots, and checking if they have added a new shot to their repertoire. I definitely do that research,” said Varun.
He added:
“Based on that, and on the pitch conditions, I make certain calculations. Some shots work on certain pitches, while others don’t. So I plan accordingly.”
Varun Chakravarthy will look to continue his magical run on his home turf in Chennai in the second T20I against England. A victory will help India take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.