Was Team India deliberately keeping Varun Chakravarthy under wraps, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash their mystery spinner? Or was it simply a case of circumstances aligning at the right time?
When Rohit Sharma introduced Chakravarthy into the playing XI against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy, it was officially labeled as a rest day for young seamer Harshit Rana. But since that moment, Chakravarthy has wasted no time in proving that he is far more than just a backup option.
For years, the Indian cricket setup has been blessed with an array of world-class spinners. The likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja have been the go-to slow bowlers. Even the great Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the finest minds in cricket, struggled to secure a permanent spot in the playing XI. So, it’s understandable why Chakravarthy—despite his stellar IPL performances—was kept on the sidelines for so long.
Yet, the past few matches have painted a different picture. The way he has deceived batters and dictated the tempo of the game has drawn comparisons to Sri Lanka’s former mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis. The similarities are uncanny: both rely on an array of deliveries—googlies, carrom balls, skidders—all bowled at an awkward pace that leaves batters second-guessing themselves.
Mendis arrived on the international stage like a storm in the 2008 Asia Cup, where he obliterated India’s star-studded batting lineup with a stunning 6-13 in the final. For a time, he was unplayable. But as cricket evolved, batters studied him, adapted, and ultimately unraveled his mystery. His early dominance faded, and his ODI career, though impressive, never quite reached the legendary heights it once promised.
Will Chakravarthy suffer the same fate? Or has he learned from the past to ensure his longevity?
The modern cricketing world is far more data-driven than it was in Mendis’s era. Batters today have access to a wealth of analytical tools that help them decode mystery spinners faster than ever before. But the great ones—bowlers like Rashid Khan—continuously evolve, adding new tricks to their arsenal to stay ahead of the curve. Chakravarthy seems to understand this well.
He has spoken about the stark difference between T20 and 50-over cricket, emphasizing how the sequencing of his deliveries has had to change. His experience in India’s domestic one-day circuit, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, has given him the awareness to manipulate batters over extended spells rather than just a four-over burst.
At 33, he is an outlier in an era where most players establish themselves at a much younger age. His journey has been unconventional—five years spent studying architecture, followed by a brief career in the field, and then an unexpected turn toward professional cricket. It was only at 26 that he seriously began pursuing the sport, an age when most players are already refining their international careers.
Despite the late start, Chakravarthy now stands at the threshold of something special. With a Champions Trophy final on the horizon and a possible shot at the 2027 World Cup, he has the opportunity to carve out a unique legacy.
The challenge now is to keep evolving, to avoid being figured out like Mendis, and to prove that his mystery is not just a passing phase but a long-term asset for Indian cricket. If he manages that, this late bloomer might just redefine the role of mystery spinners in ODI cricket.