CUTTACK: Just as the Indian team got together for a huddle before the toss at the Barabati Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Raghu Raghavendra, the team’s throwdown specialist, dropped everything and ran towards them from the other end of the pitch where he was standing. As head coach Gautam Gambhir had started talking, Raghu snuck a cap in from the side to Hardik Pandya who passed it on to Ravindra Jadeja.
Is there a debut… will Varun Chakravarthy finally get a game… questions lingered while Gambhir confirmed the same — in a video that was later shared by the BCCI – asking Jadeja to hand over the cap to Varun. Right from the time of Vijay Hazare knockouts, Varun has been the one name that has constantly come up in discussions. Although he was initially not included in the ODI squad, Varun was later added with the team management wanting to see if he could replicate the T20I performance in the 50-over format. And here he was, at 33 years and 164 days, the second-oldest ODI debut for India after Farokh Engineer (36 years and 138 days). Varun Chakravarthy, ODI cap no. 259.
The architect-turned mystery spinner, who rose from tennis ball cricket to Tamil Nadu Premier League to the Indian Premier League to the Indian team, is taking the field in a format where he has thrived at the domestic level over the past couple of years. It is not just a case of IPL and T20I performances being rewarded and India looking to make the most of a player’s ability. In the last few years, Varun has also proven himself in the 50-over domestic tournament. He was the second leading wicket-taker in 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons and with 37 wickets cumulatively, he is the number one spinner in Vijay Hazare in this period.
While he did not play in Nagpur, India captain Rohit Sharma had confirmed that the spinner is in the scheme of things for the Champions Trophy that is set to be played in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19. “Right now we are not thinking about whether we are going to take him or not but definitely he will be in contention. If things plan out really well for us and he does what is required then definitely there is something that we need to think about,” Sharma had said ahead of the first ODI.
And the day came in Cuttack as Varun was introduced as early as the ninth over. Having been bamboozled by him through the T20I series, England openers did not want to take him on up front. They were happy to pick up singles and when Phil Salt did try to go after Varun, he ended up top-edging a full delivery handing the spinner his first ODI wickets. From thereon, the spinner continued to keep one end tight, bowling stump to stump in mid 90KPHs. It was only when Harry Brook hit him down the ground for a six — in Varun’s sixth over on the trot — he conceded a boundary.
His first spell read 6-0-26-1 before Sharma brought back the other two spinners in the XI — Jadeja and Axar Patel. As they continued to ensure things did not get out of hand, Varun was largely fielding in fine-leg and third-man region. When he came back, Varun almost trapped Joe Root, but the England batter had gotten some glove on it. Root was the only other batter to pick up boundaries off Varun as the rest just tried to rotate him. Long before the innings was over, Varun had completed his ten overs with the figures of 54/1.
While one match is not a perfect parameter to judge any player, in Varun’s case, it was more about how he got through the ten-over spell and spent time on the field. Although it seemed like England were comfortable rotating strike, Varun had a debut to remember on what was a good pitch to bat on. And should he play the third and final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, he will be keen to make a significant impact to ensure his selection for the Champions Trophy.