I didn’t know if I’d make a comeback after being dropped: Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy (Pic: File Pic)

Ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, Team India spinner Varun Chakravarthy opened up on his comeback to the white-ball set up, stating that it has taken a long time to earn a place in the national set-up.

While speaking to Revsportz, Varun said, "Thank you so much for considering me an important bowler of the setup for the Indian team. It has definitely taken a long time to earn this spot, and as I have mentioned in many other places also that this journey has been long. I did not have a vision as to if I would make a comeback or not once I was dropped from the team, but I kept telling myself that if I get certain variations and accuracy levels, then I will be able to make a comeback into the team".

The spinner also highlighted that IPL as well as the Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and other domestic leagues helped him to gain the much-needed confidence.

"That was the only motivating factor, and obviously, I had IPL as the platform to showcase whatever I was learning side by side. I also played a lot on the domestic side, like the Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophy and other tournaments. I used to travel all around India and play, which eventually gave me a lot of confidence. That was the main aspect of my comeback," he said.

"The main reason was not having clarity of whether I would ever make a return to the team. The only thing in front of me was IPL and the domestic leagues, and I am definitely grateful for having IPL, because many other cricketers don't have that as well," he added.

Chakravarthy then shared the challenging phase of his career when he was picked by Team India for the Bangladesh tour.

"After having good IPL seasons, I felt that I should have been in the team, but still, I was not there. So everything made sense when I was picked after a long time for the Bangladesh tour last year. Yes, that phase was challenging, but the only thing I had control over was going to practice at 5:30 in the morning, doing some spot bowling, and then coming back home to hit the gym in the evening," said the 33-year-old.

"I kept pushing myself, and that is how it worked. Today, I would not regret any of that, because those hard times made me a better person and a better human being," said the Karnataka-born cricketer.

So far, Varun Chakravarthy has played four ODIs for Team India, in which he has 10 wickets. His best bowling figures in the format are five wickets for 42 runs.

He has also represented the "Men in Blue" for 18 T20Is, and has 33 wickets to his name. His career best performance i the shortest format of the game is five wickets by conceding 17 runs.

(With ANI Inputs)