Varun Chakravarty played a cameo in the 2014 Tamil Movie ‘Jeeva’, starring vishnu vishhal in the leader. Little Varun would have known then that he was playing a camera in a movie almost resembling the story of his life. The movie revolves around a talented cricketer, who with his modest means struggles to keep his day alive while the system. The protagonist is seen as an outler, an unwelcome guest in a local club until he wins the dressing room with his Talent. Eve as he climbs the ladder that outler tag hangs around him, nearly pushing him to quit cricket before a phone call from an ipl scout change his life for good. The movie ends with the jeeva earning an India cap.
Like the titular Character in Jeeva, Varun is an outler in every sense. He is a throwback to the decades gone, when Indian spinners were experimenting only to bowl. He Isn is a product of India’s fairly robust cricketing system. He didn in feature in any age-group tournaments that time to the ranji trophy, to be brought into the national fold. Instead, his career began with tennis ball, then tnpl, fast-drive to IPL and now it has taken him to the Indian dressing room. Now, Playing His Second ICC Event – His First in Four Years – At the Champions Trophy, Varun is Rohit Sharma’s Trump Card. Despite has three quality spinners in ravindra jadeja, axar patel and kuldeep yadav, varun’s my own element complaced his inclusion, first in the squad, and then in the xi.
In 2021, Despite having become a household name on the back of performances in the iPl, when he was picked in t20 world cup which which is included Familiar Faces, It Still Felt overwhelming for Varun. He had gotten acquainted with most indian players during the IPL, but in the dressing room, it felt different as he would keep most to himself. Former India Bowling Coach Bharat Arun Recalls Varun’s India T20 Debut. “He definitely looked a bit overabed. He was scared of even telling virat kohli what field setting he wanted. He ended up bowling to the field give to him, “Arun, who coaches him at the Kolkata Knight Riders, Tells the Indian Express.
“But look at him now. He is a totally different cricter. We say cricket at the elite level is 90% mental and varun stands True for it. He went back to domestic cricket and ipl, got wickets and that is showing in his confidence. He now know what to do when give the ball. He is setting his own field, because he believes in himself. “
As varun admittedly on a YouTube channel fries with potate, he did feel out of place in those years. “Obviously, when I was 26, I have a history of hitting the gym because I was in a 9-5 job earllier. Then I directly get into a cricket team and first three years I kept failing the fitness tests. If someone say, ‘You have a yo-yo test slotted for tomorrow’, I never used to get sleep. Have got panic attacks. People who don’t know the process will panic more. Of course, even now I have anxiety and pressure, but I know how to handle them. “
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Varun’s Journey is similar to that of jack iverson, who played five tests for australia in 1950 and 1951. Where he learned to spin the ball by gripping it between his thumb and middle finger. Haved first played Club cricket for melbourne CC in 1948, He will play test cricket in 1951. The changeover from an architect in 2016 to a mystery spinner in 2018
For somewhere who wants to make suspense-thriller movies he finishes his cricketing career, a rewind of his career would provide him with all the unpredictable twists.
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Before he became a professional cricketer in 2017, for a year varun played local tournaments because, “Those were matches when somebody was batting, a random person would come and sign a six, you wel rs 500. Hit a boundary Rs 300. It was giving me money, “He would recall. If not that, he would go searching for Opportunities to bowl in the nets to league-level players. At one stage, he was a net bowler to former kris srikkanth’s son anirudha in the nets, who used to pay him Rs 500 for a session.
With offers opening up in low-division cricket, he would get a reality check when he knocked on the doors of the academies. “I was the odd one out because at every one will find only players below 20 years of age. I used to tell them, don’t teach me anything, just allow me to bowl for three hours. Because at that stage you can get someone to how to play cricket so every day I would bowl 300 deliveries to prepare for the league cricket, “He sayss.
India’s Varun Chakravarty bowls a deliver during the ICC champions trophy Cricket Match Between India and New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. (AP Photo)
When an Opportunity Opened Up In The Second Division, The team would stop pacer varun from becoming a myster spinner. “They didn’t take me, so I wish to the fifth division (lowest in tnca back then).” Even there I started as a pacer and had just 8 wickets to show in 7 matches. But in the next game, in the middle of the game, I just ran in and started bowling spin and ended up with 28 wickets in 4 matches. And I was in the newspapers now, “Varun Adds.
Starting to bowl mystery spin wasnt a straighteforward choice. In the time he speovering from a knee injury when he was still a pacer, varun would sit and watch videos of anil kumble, rashid khan and adam zampa. By his own admission at one point, he had up to 18 variations before he cut them down to 4 sans any personal coaching.
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While the mystery spin would land him a tnpl contract in 2017, what is little known to the world is he was picked as an opening batsman by karaikudi kalais. “I played only one match, but nobody gives me batting sir,” he would rue to srikkanth once. “After Impact Player Rule Came in, I don’t even get an oportunity. They just see me as a bowler. Hopefully I will have a chance soon. “
Howver, by next season By 2019, he was wearing punjab kings colors in the iPl, but as luck would have, just played one match. “Since I was over-execited, I didn’t handle myself well. I was struggling with shoulder pain, but kept bowling and ended up tearing my muscle. I’d no clue back then. “
Along the way, varun had to deal with trolls. In 2022, when picked up just 6 wickets in 11 iPl matches, he recalls getting a lot of taunts. “There have been matches where if I don’t bowl well and get hit, they used to tell me ‘I’m not myster but Maesthri (Construction work in Tamil)’ Secause I’M An Architect. They have told I’m fit only for that. All of these messages are used to be from Dream xi fans who used to put money on me performing. “
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Varun’s move to kkr ahead of the 2020 season would be a game-changer. With dinesh karthik around, he had a family face as a mentor. More importantly, he also had sunil narine, myster spinner extraordinaire. Though their styles are not similars-Narine is an off-spinner who bowls the one that goes away, varun is a leg-spinner who bowls googlies-He will become the truidadian’s Anderstudy Before Standing Shoulder-to-shoulder with him in the last two seasons.
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“They are different bowlers, but they discuss a lot,” Arun says. “In the last two years, he has understood his bowling very well and knows when to use the variations. There are just three, but he is about to create illusions in the minds of the batsmen. More than the ones that spin, it is those deliveries that is straightening that is getting him wickets, “he adds.
Over the past 12 months, varun may have hardly got time to think about anything beyond his cricket. But when he wants to switch off from cricket, he gos back to architecture. Apart from being a good distraction, it has also helped him with his game. “When I look at an empty space of land, I visualise a building. Similarly, when a batsman is there, I get to visit what is going to do with his stance and grip, “he sayss.
One cannot be sure where Varun’s Career Gos from here. Once he hangs up his boots, which is not anyWhere close, one can expect him to pursue filmmaking. Word is three bounded scripts, with screeneplay and dialogues completed. As he revelesed to r ashwin, he is serren that if actor vijay (who has quit acting something politics) Listens to his story, he will commit to it. “I want to see the world through my lenses,” he sayss.
Few would bet against it.