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Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has made a return to the Men in Blue's T20I team after a gap of almost three years. The crafty bowler has been named in India's squad for their upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
Chakravarthy made his T20I debut during India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2021. He was also picked for the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he featured in three matches and remained wicketless. He lost his place in the national team following the showpiece event.
However, the 33-year-old redeemed himself with impressive performances for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). With 21 wickets from 14 outings, Chakravarthy was KKR's leading wicket-taker in their title-winning campaign earlier this year.
India's squad for Bangladesh T20Is was announced on Saturday, September 28. Afterwards, many fans took to social media to express their excitement over Chakravarthy's comeback.
Here are some of the top reactions:
"Happy for Varun Chakravarthy! Dropped after the 2021 T20I World Cup, he faced challenges but worked hard to become one of the best spinners in the IPL. His return to the team after three years is a remarkable story of resilience and dedication!"
Several fans opined that Chakravarthy thoroughly deserved a second chance at the international level. He has established himself as one of the best Indian spinners in the IPL.
"Varun Chakravarthy return....Wow. The Gautam Gambhir effect is evident. I’ve always felt Varun was unfairly treated and scapegoated for the early exit from the T20 World Cup,he wasn't even fully fit." commented a fan
"So happy for Varun Chakravarthy. His hard work and determination really paid off." wrote another
"Justice served to Varun Chakravarthy finally.. India's no 1 T20 spinner is BACK." chimed in yet another
Chakravarthy has 83 wickets to his name from 71 matches in IPL at an economy rate of 7.56.
IND squad for BAN T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.
When Abhishek Nayar revealed that selectors told Varun Chakravarthy to improve his batting and fielding to return to Indian team
Team India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar worked closely with Chakravarthy during his tenure as KKR's assistant coach. He revealed that the selectors asked Chakravarthy to work on his batting and fielding to be able to make a comeback into the Indian side.
On The Ranveer Show Podcast earlier this year, Nayar said:
"Varun Chakravarthy performs every year in the Vijay Hazare [Trophy], everywhere. But I remember selectors told him, 'You should improve your batting, you'll be able to make the cut; Improve your fielding and you'll be able to make the cut'. That was the mindset.
"So he scored a few runs in the Vijay Hazare this time and sent me a video [saying,] 'I hit two sixes, scored 40 runs.'"
The three-match T20I series between India and Bangladesh is set to kick off on October 6 at New Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium in Gwalior.
