Varun Chakravarthy 'never gives up': Cricketers, fans laud spinner for India team call up

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced the Indian squads for the tour of Australia which is set to get underway in December. Notably, limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma missed out owing to an injury and was replaced by KL Rahul, who will now be Virat Kohli's deputy in ODIs, as well as, T20Is.

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Varun Chakravarthy earns maiden T20I call-up

However, one name that caught everyone's eyes was Kolkata spinner Varun Chakravarthy's name who earned his maiden T20I call-up. The leg-spinner has been in brilliant form in the ongoing Dream11 IPL 2020, having grabbed 13 wickets in 12 matches at a decent average of 23.50. Chakravarthy recently delivered a stellar performance in the match against Delhi as he bagged five wickets to guide his team to victory. The Chakravarthy 5 wickets spell was also the first fifer of the season.

Varun Chakravarthy was brought by Punjab ahead of the 2019 edition of the league. The Chakravarthy IPL price in 2019 was a whopping ₹8.4 crore. The leg-spinner could just play one match in his debut season where he bowled three overs, giving away 35 runs and picking up a solitary wicket. After playing just one match, Chakravarthy was ruled out of the tournament due to a finger fracture.

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He was then released by Punjab and bought by Kolkata ahead of the Dream11 IPL 2020. The Chakravarthy IPL price in 2020 is a staggering ₹4 crore. The leg-spinner has justified his price tag in the ongoing season with his splendid performances. His performance going ahead will be crucial in determining whether or not Kolkata make it to the playoffs.

As soon as the news of Varun Chakravarthy maiden India call-up came out, cricketers, as well as, fans took to Twitter to congratulate the Kolkata spinner. Several reactions poured in fans lauded Chakravarthy for his grit and determination. Let's take a look at a few reactions.

Varun Chakravarthy story

The Varun Chakravarthy story proves how hard work and persistence never goes in vain. Chakravarthy started playing cricket when he was 13 years old as a wicketkeeper-batsman but after failing several times in group cricket, he gave up on the sport. He then went on to pursue architecture and got his degree from SRM University in Chennai.  He started working as a freelance architect but playing tennis-ball cricket reignited his love for the game.

ALSO READ | Varun Chakravarthy 5 wickets best spell in Dream11 IPL 2020, fans left stunned: Watch

Chakravarty then decided to quit his job and joined CromBest Cricket Club as a seam-bowling allrounder. But a knee injury he sustained during one of the matches led him to become a spinner. The leg-spinner's brilliant performance in the local leagues got him a Tamil Nadu Premier League contract with Siechem Madurai Panthers in 2018 where his performances were crucial in Madurai lifting the trophy.  Several franchises were eyeing the Chennai lad as his mystery bowling impressed one and all. He was subsequently brought by Punjab at the IPL 2019 auctions and since then there has been no turning back for the 29-year-old.

Indian squad for T20Is vs Australia

Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy.

ALSO READ | Dream11 IPL: Did Kolkata listen to Sachin Tendulkar's magical advice before beating Delhi?

SOURCE: IPL TWITTER