Asian Games: Spinner Varun Chakravarthy to miss India’s campaign in Japan due to injury
Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the second and third T20Is against Afghanistan as well as India’s Asian Games campaign after suffering a side strain. The spinner only recently returned to international cricket after a two-month injury layoff.
Chakravarthy made his comeback in the first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday and bowled his full quota of four overs. He picked up 1/16 as India won the opening match by seven wickets but experienced discomfort in his side after his spell.
The injury forced Chakravarthy to miss the second T20I in Delhi on Tuesday and will also sit out the third and final match on September 17. More importantly, the setback ruled him out of the Asian Games campaign in India and added another name to the team’s growing list of injuries.
India have already clinched the T20I series against Afghanistan after winning the first two matches. Nitish Kumar Reddy also struck with the ball during the series, while Ravi Bishnoi was given an opportunity in Chakravarthy’s absence.
The spinner’s latest setback comes after he has worked through a Grade 2 hamstring injury sustained during India’s tour of England in July. He subsequently underwent rehabilitation at the Center of Excellence in Bengaluru before returning to competitive cricket in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
WHAT WAS CHAKRAVARTHY’S INJURY?
Chakravarthy returned to India’s T20I set-up after missing about two months due to his hamstring problem. He played for Dindigul Dragons in one Tamil Nadu Premier League match in August, finishing with figures of 0/34 before being selected for the Afghanistan series.
His return against Afghanistan initially went smoothly as he completed four overs and conceded only 16 runs when he was given a wicket. However, discomfort in his side after the match meant that he was withdrawn from the remaining matches and subsequently ruled out of the Asian Games.
India has yet to name an official replacement for Chakravarthy. Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar are the two specialist spin options available in the team, while Axar Patel also offers another option after taking 1/27 in the opening T20I.
INDIAN PROBLEMS OF INJURY
Chakravarthy is the latest Indian player to miss out due to injury. Harshit Rana was ruled out of the Afghanistan series as well as the Asian Games after failing to recover in time, Yash Thakur was named as his replacement.
Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have also recently returned from injury concerns. Washington and Nitish were cleared to play after passing fitness tests, while Bumrah was included in both the squads.
India will play the third T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi on September 17 before taking on Japan in a one-off T20I on September 22. Their Asian Games campaign will begin with the men’s cricket quarter-finals on September 28, followed by the semi-finals on October 1 and the final on October 3.
Indian Asian Games Lineup: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaishibhav Soryavan.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
16 Sep 2026 13:38 IST