Varun Chakaravarthy's Comeback Cut Short by Injury
Varun Chakaravarthy’s comeback has lasted just one match.
Barely back from a two‑month rehabilitation stint at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, the 35-year-old has broken down again and has been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan. His participation in the Asian Games now hangs by a thread.
From reassurance to relapse in 24 hours
On Sunday night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, everything seemed to be falling back into place. Chakaravarthy sent down his full quota of four overs, looked close to his old, nagging best, and returned figures of 1 for 16. The only blot: two no-balls. Otherwise, it was the kind of spell that usually signals the end of a long rehab story.
It hasn’t turned out that way.
After the game, Chakaravarthy complained of a side strain, and the team management moved quickly. He has been released from the squad and will fly to Bengaluru on Wednesday to consult the CoE medical team again. Scans are planned before any decision is taken on his availability for the Asian Games.
Time, though, is the enemy now. India are scheduled to leave for Japan on September 18 from New Delhi. They play a bilateral game against the hosts on September 22 before opening their Asian Games campaign on September 28. With less than a week to go before departure, the window for recovery and clearance is brutally small.
A stop-start year
This latest setback continues a frustrating pattern. Chakaravarthy had already been forced to return midway through the T20I series in England in July with a hamstring injury, ruling him out of the subsequent tour of Zimbabwe. He then spent close to two months at the CoE, working back to what was deemed full fitness, which earned him recalls for both the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games squad.
On Sunday, he spoke like a man who had made peace with the grind. Addressing the media after the match, he reflected on the toll elite sport takes on the body, calling injuries “very common for all sportspeople” and a sign that players are “working” and “giving our best.” Sometimes, he said, athletes push “beyond our limits and that is when the body gives in,” stressing the need to step back, work better, and “come back stronger.”
Less than a day later, that philosophy has been put to an even sterner test.
The CoE staff will now decide how much more his body can be asked to give this month — and whether India will head to Japan without one of their most intriguing spin options.
