Varun Chakaravarthy made his debut for India in the shortest version of the game at the 2021 T20 World Cup, led by Virat Kohli. Earlier this year, he made his ODI debut, captained by Rohit Sharma.
Chakaravarthy struggled to find positions for Kohli and Rohit, who opened the batting for India in their successful T20 World Cup victory last year.
In a candid talk with Ravichandran Ashwin, Chakaravarthy was asked to choose his all-time T20 XI. Ashwin’s only demand was that Chakaravarthy be able to list players he had played with.
Instead of Rohit-Kohli, Varun Chakaravarthy chose Jos Buttler and Travis Head as his openers.
Suryakumar Yadav was one of three Indian players to make the cut. The current Indian skipper comes in at number three. Former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran, South African wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen, and Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya make up the middle order.
West Indies veterans Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, who both play for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), were able to secure positions in the bottom middle order. Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s T20 captain, is the other spinner chosen for the team, alongside Narine.
In terms of fast bowling, the Tamil Nadu spinner chose the renowned Jasprit Bumrah and the enigmatic Matheesha Pathirana.
Varun Chakravarthy’s Dream T20 XI: Jos Buttler, Travis Head, Suryakumar Yadav, Nicholas Pooran, Heinrich Klaasen, Hardik Pandya, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Matheesha Pathirana.
Chakaravarthy played a key role for India in the Champions Trophy 2025. He bagged nine wickets from three games at an average of 15.11 as India went on to lift the coveted title after 12 years. Chakaravarthy is expected to return to action in August when India travel to Bangladesh to play a three-match ODI series, which will be followed by three T20Is.
