Varun Chakravarthy, an indian spinner who is specialised in googlies and carrom balls, has been making headlines since his debut in One Day Internationals (ODIs). Cricket experts regard him as ‘Mystery Spinner’. He has taken 8 wickets in 3 ODIs he has been featured in after his debut on February 9, 2025, against England.
Varun Chakravarthy’s low rate of economy (4.83) makes him a right bowler to approach at crunch moments. His bowling show was successful in domestic cricket, and he also took a five-wicket haul for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), retaining him after buying him in the IPL auction held in 2020. Although he was not featured in the first 2 fixtures of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, he has sealed his spot with a breathtaking performance against New Zealand and Australia.Â
Varun Chakravarthy vs NZ Records in ODI
New Zealand has a good form to back the performance as the Kiwis have emerged victorious in 7 successive matches in Pakistan. However, in the last group-stage match against New Zealand in ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Varun Chakravarthy built pressure on top order by leaving them confused and culminated his spells with 5/42, a performance which will guide India in upcoming matches.Â
| Match | Innings | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Avg | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 10.0 | 0 | 42 | 5 | 5/42 | 8.40 | 4.20 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 |
Initially, everyone was puzzled about how Mitchell Santner’s in-form team would perform against India, but he did everything to get the wickets of opener Will Young and hitter Glenn Phillips. India could finish the match quite early by pulling off New Zealand at 205 in 45.3 overs, winning it by 44 runs.
During the selection of a Squad with extra spinners, selectors were under criticism. Finally, when India appeared in a crucial group-stage match against New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium with Varun Chakravarthy, apart from Ravindra Jadeja, KL Yadav, and Axar Patel, all questions seemed to fade away.Â
