Varun Chakaravarthy Ruled Out of Remaining Afghanistan T20Is, Asian Games in Doubt

Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the remainder of India's T20I series against Afghanistan with a side strain, with his participation at the Asian Games later this month also now in doubt.

The timing is harsh for the spinner, who had just worked his way back into India's white-ball plans on the back of a strong T20 World Cup campaign, finishing as one of the tournament's standout performers with 14 wickets, and a dominant IPL season as a middle-overs enforcer. His variations, sliders and carrom balls had repeatedly broken up top-order batting units, helping him re-establish himself as an near-automatic pick in India's white-ball setup.

India play a historic first-ever T20I against Japan on September 22, before their Asian Games campaign begins in Nisshin on September 28, where India go in as defending champions under Shreyas Iyer's captaincy. With Chakaravarthy's fitness now uncertain heading into that tournament, the team management will need to assess replacement options across the squad's spin-bowling resources in the coming days.