Dinesh Karthik backs Varun Chakravarthy to make India debut with 'mystery spinner' tweet

Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik believes a "mystery spinner" will make his debut for India in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, referring to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate Varun Chakravarthy. Karthik took to his official social media handle to share his prediction for tonight's game against the Lankans, which will mark the beginning of the three-match T20I series. Chakravarthy did not play in the recently-concluded ODI series and has a pretty good chance of making his international debut for India in the first T20I, given that head coach Rahul Dravid is keen on giving everyone a chance. 

The Indian leg-spinner was named in India's T20I squad for the away series against Australia, however, Chakravarthy was ruled out due to an injury. The 29-year-old was then named to India's squad for the home series against England, but he did not get a chance to play in the series. Chakravarthy was last seen in action in the first half of Indian Premier League 2021. Chakravarthy and his fellow KKR teammate Sandeep Warrier had tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 3, prompting the BCCI to postpone the tournament. 

India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I

India and Sri Lanka are all set to kick start the three-match T20I series today (July 25) at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. After a series-clinching performance against a second-string Sri Lankan side, The Shikhar Dhawan-led side will be raring to go out and play the first T20I of the tour and win it to secure an early lead in the series. The match is slated to begin at 8:00 pm Indian Standard Time (IST). The match will be live broadcast on the Sony network and people can watch the digital feed on the Sony Liv app. 

India's squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Hardik Pandya, Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Krishnappa Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Vice-captain), Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan Sakariya

Sri Lanka's squad: Dasun Shanaka (Captain), Dhananjaya De Silva, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, Minod Bhanuka, Lahiru Udara, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Binura Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Lakshan Sandakan, Akila Dananjaya, Shiran Fernando, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Ishan Jayaratne, Praveen Jayawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Isuru Udana.

Image: VarunChakravarthy/Insta/PTI