The Indian Premier League (IPL) has always been a great platform for uncapped cricketers to showcase their talent and grab the spotlight. They get the opportunity to share the change room with the best cricketers around the world and learn all the skills from top-quality coaches.
A similar story is continuing in the ongoing thirteenth season of IPL where names like Rahul Tewatia, Ravi Bishnoi, Devdutt Padikkal, and T Natarajan have become the talk of the town. Another name which has been added to this list is of spin bowler Varun Chakravarthy.
During the 42nd game of IPL 2020 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday, KKR mystery spinner Varun marked his arrival lavishly after he became the first bowler in this IPL to bag a five-wicket haul.
Varun conceded just 20 runs in his 4-over spell and earned prized scalps of Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer, Shreyas Iyer, Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel.
But who is this Varun Chakravarthy and what’s his story? Let’s check out the seven interesting facts about the spinner everyone is talking about:
- Varun was born in Bidar, Karnataka on August 29, 1991. He hadn’t played much cricket until he was 13 years old.
- The 29-year-old left cricket after several rejections and pursued a Bachelor of Architecture degree at the SRM University in Chennai.
- Varun started playing tennis ball cricket, while he was working. He learned numerous tricks with the ball and took part in a few local tournaments, which helped him rediscover his lost love for the game.
- At the age of 25, Varun quit his job to pursue a career in cricket.
- Varun made his List A debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on September 20.
- In the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, the right-arm spinner ended as the leading wicket-taker (22) for his side and second overall.
- In December 2018, he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for a whopping 8.4 crores.
