Varun Chakaravarthy vs Yuzvendra Chahal - comparing their stats after 73 IPL games

Varun Chakaravarthy and Yuzvendra Chahal are among the top spinners in the IPL 2025 season. So far this season, Chakaravarthy has bagged three wickets from two games while Chahal, who has played just one game, is yet to open his account.

Chakaravarthy continues to feature for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and impressed with figures of 2/17 from four overs against Rajasthan after a poor start against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Meanwhile, Chahal was acquired by Punjab Kings for a massive ₹18 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. In their first game, he gave away 34 runs from three overs and did not pick up a single wicket.

However, Chahal has already made his impact over the years with consistent performances in the IPL. He is the most successful bowler in the history of the league while Chakaravarthy is making his mark as this is his seventh IPL season.

Chahal has also won the Purple Cap in the 2022 edition. With the 2025 edition in progress, let us compare the stats of the two quality spinners after 73 matches in the league.

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Comparing the stats of Varun Chakaravarthy and Yuzvendra Chahal after 73 IPL matches

#1 Most wickets

Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the history of the IPL with 205 scalps from 161 games in his career. His journey began with the Mumbai Indians in 2013 before he went on to play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals. In his first 73 IPL matches, Chahal picked up a total of 88 wickets.

Varun Chakaravarthy is not far behind in terms of wickets taken after 73 IPL matches between the two. He is only behind by a slender margin as the KKR spinner has 86 wickets in his IPL career after having started in 2019, where he played for Punjab before moving to KKR in 2020.

Player	Matches	Innings	Wickets
Varun Chakaravarthy	73	72	86
Yuzvendra Chahal	73	72	88

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#2 Average and Economy rate

In his IPL career overall, Yuzvendra Chahal has an average of 22.61 and an economy rate of 7.85 from 161 matches. However, talking about his first 73 games in the league, Chahal had an average of 22.95 and an economy rate of 7.76.

Meanwhile, Varun Chakaravarthy has an average of 23.97 in his first 73 IPL games. Therefore, Chahal beats Chakaravarthy on average in comparison during the same stage. However, Chakaravarthy has an economy rate of 7.56, which is slightly better than what Chahal had at a similar stage.

Player	Matches	Average	Economy Rate
Varun Chakaravarthy	73	22.95	7.56
Yuzvendra Chahal	73	23.97	7.76

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#3 Most 4-wicket and 5-wicket hauls

Yuzvendra Chahal has had a stellar IPL career so far. The leg-spinner has a total of six four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul in his IPL career. However, from his first 73 matches, he had only two four-wicket hauls and did not have a five-wicket haul. His best figures in this phase were 4/38.

On the other hand, Varun Chakaravarthy has a four-wicket haul and a five-wicket haul from his 73 matches so far in the IPL. While he has fewer four-wicket hauls than Chahal, he pips him in the comparison of five-wicket hauls. His best figures of 5/20 are also better than that of Chahal at a similar stage.

Player	Matches	4-wicket haul	5-wicket haul	Best Figures
Varun Chakaravarthy	73	1	1	5/20
Yuzvendra Chahal	73	2	-	4/38

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Conclusion

Yuzvendra Chahal, as mentioned earlier, is the most successful IPL bowler with the highest number of wickets. While he is ahead of Varun Chakaravarthy by just two wickets after 73 IPL games, both bowlers have been wicket-takers for the teams they have played for.

Varun Chakaravarthy has a slightly better average and an economy rate as compared to Chahal, which is one aspect where he pips the current Punjab Kings spinner. For KKR, he will be expected to repeat his performance from last year as the defending champions aim to hold on to the title.

Chahal has a new franchise this season and with all his experience, he will have to lead their spin attack and continue to pick up wickets.