"You would have forgotten Varun Chakaravarthy if not for the IPL" - Aakash Chopra lauds spinner's performances in IND vs ENG 2025 T20Is

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Varun Chakaravarthy for his excellent performances in the recently concluded T20I series against England. He also credited the Indian Premier League (IPL) for helping the mystery spinner to make a comeback to the Men in Blue's T20I side.

India set England a 248-run target in the fifth T20I in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. Chakaravarthy then returned figures of 2/25 in two overs as the hosts bowled the visitors out for 97 to register a resounding 150-run win and complete a 4-1 series victory.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener praised Chakaravarthy for putting in the hard yards and highlighted the IPL's role in his comeback.

"In bowling, you can't look beyond Varun Chakaravarthy. The job he has done in this entire series, whenever he rolled his arms over, he picked up wickets. The rise and rise of Varun Chakaravarthy is a testament that the guy has the might because comebacks are difficult," he said (14:40).

"Secondly, it shows the might of the IPL. We deride it at times, a lot of people say that things went bad because of the IPL, but you would have forgotten Varun Chakaravarthy if not for the IPL. So he playing continuously in the IPL, performing well there, improving himself, and then getting a chance here (in T20Is), you feel at home because the pressure is almost similar," Chopra added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner got to bowl to the best batters under pressure situations in the prestigious league.

"The crowd and atmosphere are exactly the same. You also bowl to the same batters. There too you bowl to Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone, and Phil Salt in the nets. So you feel you have done all of this earlier and it's slightly easier. At least, you feel comfortable. So I am really happy for Varun Chakaravarthy," Chopra elaborated.

Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone were Chakaravarthy's two victims in Sunday's game. While the England skipper was caught at long-off by Tilak Varma, the new Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) recruit lofted the spinner straight down Rinku Singh's throat at deep midwicket.

---

"He is the only Indian bowler to take double-digit wickets in one series" - Aakash Chopra on Varun Chakaravarthy

Varun Chakaravarthy has picked up 33 wickets at an economy rate of 7.02 in 18 T20Is. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Varun Chakaravarthy has achieved a unique distinction and that too twice.

"He is the only Indian bowler to take double-digit wickets in one series. Ravichandran Ashwin is behind him with nine wickets. No one else is in double digits and he has two successive series, a four-match series and a five-match series, 12 wickets in one and 14 in the other. I mean, wow," he said.

Chakaravarthy picked up 12 wickets at an excellent average of 11.50 in the four-match T20I series against South Africa last year. His 14 wickets in the five-match series against England have come at an even better average of 9.85.