AFG vs IND: Abhishek and Varun’s comeback stories have one thing in common
Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy returned to India’s T20I side in Delhi with different questions. By the end of Sunday night, both had answered them in the most convincing way possible on the field.
Abhishek went nine innings without a fifty in T20I cricket, a slender stretch that began on India’s tour of Great Britain. Varun was coming back from an injury layoff after a disappointing IPL season and a difficult tour of England.
Both had reason to feel good after India victory over Afghanistan by seven wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series.
Abhishek smashed 82 off 32 ballshe hit seven sixes and as many boundaries as India chased down 157 in less than 14 overs. Varun bowled four disciplined overs of 19 runs and took the wicket of Darwish Rasooli.
Then came the interesting part. Both talked about setbacks without being particularly bothered by them. Abhishek was thoughtful. Varun was more assertive, almost challenging the assumption that his recent numbers should be used to judge him.
Abhishek went back to the Indian batting group’s decision two years ago when they committed to a certain style of cricket ahead of the World Cup.
The Punjab batsman has been guilty of throwing away starts, but an equally high-risk approach has also taken him to the top of the T20 batting world. He built his game around putting pressure on bowlers and accepted that there would be days when it didn’t work out.
“One or two runs don’t define our team as a batting unit,” he said, pointing to a broader philosophy rather than an individual scoring streak.
RESULTS WILL NOT DEFINE ME: VARUN
Varun, on the other hand, was ruder. He has been criticized and written off more than once during his career, including the T20 World Cup cycle and after a tough IPL 2026 season.
“What you’re talking about is results; I can’t go by results,” he said when asked about his performance. “If I go by the results, I’ll start reacting to everything.”
For Varun, the dividing line is simple. If he bowls good ball and still concedes runs, he will accept it. If he bowls a bad ball and gets a wicket, he will still come back and work on it.
“It’s not about the goals. It’s about whether I’m playing in the right place or not,” he said.
That’s a remarkable position for a bowler in a sport where wickets are the most obvious currency. It is even more striking in India’s T20I setup, where competition for places is relentless and any dip in form can quickly become a selection debate.
Varun’s recent numbers have offered plenty of ammunition. He took only one wicket in three T20Is in England in July. Before that came an IPL season in which he conceded 8.78 runs per over and took 11 wickets in as many matches, his fewest wickets in a season since his debut campaign in 2019. There was also an injury interruption.
Still, Varun refuses to take any of this as a verdict on his bowling.
“Just because we didn’t win it doesn’t mean it’s lost,” he said of the England tour. “If you do the right thing, you can learn a lot.”
There is something to be said for that attitude in the Indian team, where the next challenge is rarely far away. A bad run can cost you a place, but a good run doesn’t guarantee it either. There’s always another player coming.
Abhishek knows this better than most. He may have ended his wait for a T20I fifty in spectacular fashion, but a teenager with the talent of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting to take his place. Varun also knows that the margins are narrow.
So the temptation is to let yourself be consumed by the results. Instead, more and more players are trying to separate the result from the process. Sometimes it can come across as overconfident, especially when someone like Varun pushes the premise of the question so hard. But this trust can also be a coping mechanism. Elite sport requires an unusual ability to absorb failure without it becoming defining.
Abhishek’s nine innings without a fifty didn’t suddenly make him a lesser batsman. Varun’s difficult IPL and England numbers have not erased the bowler who has taken 75 wickets in 49 T20Is.
In Delhi, both have achieved the kind of performance that makes this philosophy easy to defend.
– The end
Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
14 Sep 2026 13:01 IST