former indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh Despite struggling during the latter stages of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been backed to make a strong comeback in the Indian Premier League 2026. Chakravarthy finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, but found it difficult to perform well in some important matches.
Harbhajan also recalled that he first saw Chakravarthy's talent during a practice session at the Chennai Super Kings nets in 2018. At the time, Chakraborty was working as a net bowler and was quietly testing his variations against several established players. The former off-spinner said he was immediately impressed by Chakravarthy's control and wide range of variations, even at the early stages of his career.
“First of all, he is a champion bowler. I first saw him in the Chennai Super Kings nets in 2018, where he was a practice bowler. I had asked the CSK management to pick him immediately – which they didn't – because even then he was often unplayable in the nets,” Harbhajan told Times of India.
Although never getting an opportunity with CSK, Chakravarthy established himself as a key performer for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The mystery spinner played a key role in the 2024 title-winning campaign and finished the tournament with 21 wickets. Throughout his IPL career, Chakravarthy has maintained an impressive economy rate of 7.57 while taking 100 wickets in 84 T20 matches.
His success is not limited to franchise cricket. Since making his international cricket debut, Chakravarthy has become a valuable member of the Indian team in the shortest format. So far, he has played 45 T20Is, taking 73 wickets at an average of 16.61, with his best bowling performance being 5/17.
The Tamil Nadu spinner's performances have seen him rise to the top of the ICC T20I bowling rankings, reaching 771 rating points at his peak. The former India spinner believes that these achievements already demonstrate Chakravarthy's quality at the highest level. According to him, the mystery spinner has the skills and temperament to recover from setbacks and he is confident that he will come back stronger.
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