Varun Chakravarthy: The Success Story Of A Mystery Spinner!

Varun Chakravarthy is an Indian international cricketer who has represented the country in Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. A right-arm leg break bowler, Varun plays for the state of Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. 

At the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is part of the Kolkata Knight Riders and plays the role of a leg spin bowler. Varun has a huge fan following on social media platforms with a whopping 2,47,000 followers on Instagram and 1,02,300 followers on Twitter.

Physical Stats

Varun Chakravarthy Family

Varun was born on 29 August 1991. His father C V Vinod Chakravarthy works as Chief general manager with BSNL and his mother’s name is Malini Chakravarthy. Varun also has a sister, Vanditha Chakravarthy.

Varun Chakravarthy Relationship

On 11 December 2020, Varun tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Neha Khedekar at a wedding function held in Chennai.

Though the couple was supposed to get married in early 2020, their wedding was postponed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the time of lockdown, Varun was stuck in Chennai whereas his fiancee was held up in Mumbai.

Varun Chakravarthy Education

Varun did his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya CLRI, Chennai. Later, he joined St. Patrick’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School, where he used to play cricket.

Post that he enrolled for B.Arch, a five-year professional course in architecture at SRM College, Kattankulathur in Chennai. After completing that course, Varun worked as an architect for two years with D+Y Architects.

Controversies

In March 2021, India’s T20I series against England was fast approaching. Though only 2 days were remaining for the 5-match series, 3 players including Varun Chakravarthy failed to join the rest of the team.

Later, it was revealed that Varun failed to clear more than one fitness test conducted at the National Cricket Academy. As per reports, the cricketer failed twice to clear the Yo-Yo test which involves a 2 Km run.

It stirred controversy as Varun was selected for the T20I squad by the selection committee headed by Chetan Sharma, despite the fact that the cricketer was not having any competitive match practice since IPL 2020.

Though Varun was also picked for the national side’s  T20I series in Australia, he was ruled out before the team’s departure from the UAE as the cricketer was ailing from a shoulder injury. 

Varun had also missed playing for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as he was in rehab at the National Cricket Academy. The selection committee’s decision to include Varun in the squad invited sharp criticism as the cricketer didn’t play at the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well.

Varun Chakravarthy Profession

At the early age of 3, Varun started playing cricket, his first love. During his school days, little Varun used to watch a lot of cricket and also played lots of backyard cricket with the tennis ball.

Though he was part of the school team, he never got an entry into Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s age-group teams. After completing his Class XII, Varun did not see a future in cricket and thus he joined the 5-year course in architecture at SRM College.

After working for two years as an architect, one fine morning. Varun asked himself why he didn’t put his heart and soul into cricket, his first love. Thus, the youngster quit his job and decided to return to cricket.

In 2018, Varun played for Siechem Madurai Panthers at the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and picked 9 wickets in 10 matches with an excellent economy rate of 4.7. 

On 20 September 2018, Varun made his List A debut for Tamil Nadu by playing at the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy and emerged as the leading wicket-taker for his state. In the same year, at the Ranji Trophy, the cricketer made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu.

At the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL), Varun was bought by Kings XI Punjab for a price of Rs.8.4 crores. Unfortunately, he delivered an abysmal performance by conceding 25 runs in a single over at his debut match at IPL.

Before the 2020 IPL auction, he was released by Kings XI Punjab, and at the 2020 Indian Premier League, Varun was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders. The following year, he emerged as the highest wicket-taker for KKR at IPL.

In June 2021, Varun was selected for India’s One Day International (ODI) and T20I teams for their series against Sri Lanka. The cricketer played his first T20I match on 25 July 2021 against Sri Lanka. In the same year, in September, Varun was also picked for the national team for the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Varun Chakravarthy Source Of Income

Reportedly, Varun’s net worth in 2023 stands at $3 million. Apart from cricket, he also earns money from brand endorsements. The cricketer has endorsed leading brands such as Loco and Asics.

Lesser Known Facts About Varun Chakravarthy

• When a lockdown was announced following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, every night Varun used to go to a nearby public ground for cricket training along with his friend.

• Even when he was working as an architect for two years, he was practicing cricket side by side. 

• For almost 7 years, cricket was not part of his routine. Varun focused on his work and even though he used to travel and hang around with his friends, he did not follow cricket.

• After completing his engineering degree in architecture, Varun did not do any job for around 10 months. He remained at home trying to figure out what he can do in his life.  

• Varun is quite passionate about music also and learned to play guitar and flute on his own by watching YouTube videos.

• During the time of his architecture studies, Varun tried to bring cricket into it. The cricketer says that even his fifth-year thesis was a cricket stadium.

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