Ace spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has shared his battle with mental health issues ahead of the 2025 Asia Cup. The 33-year-old first played for India during the 2021 T20I series against Sri Lanka, where he managed two wickets in three outings. Later that year, he featured in the T20 World Cup but failed to claim a wicket in the three matches he played, as Virat Kohli’s team had a disappointing run and crashed out before the semi-finals.
Following the tournament, Chakaravarthy was sidelined and stayed away from the national side until 2024. Since his return, the Tamil Nadu spinner has impressed with 31 wickets in 12 T20Is and was part of India’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad. On August 18, in a chat with RevSportz, Chakaravarthy opened up about the mental challenges during his three-year absence and the hard work behind his comeback. He said:
“It’s a very good question, as not just me, but many cricketers go through mental health challenges as I did too for almost three years after I was out of the team from 2021. The main reason was not having clarity of whether I would ever make a return to the team. The only thing in front of me was IPL and the domestic leagues, and I am definitely grateful for having IPL, because many other cricketers don’t have that as well.”
“My goal was to make a comeback to the Indian side, so I kept thinking about how to improve. Despite good IPL seasons, I wasn’t picked, but things changed with the Bangladesh tour last year. That tough phase pushed me to train harder, and today I don’t regret it, as those struggles made me a better cricketer and a better person,” he added.
Varun Chakaravarthy On Journey To India’s Spin Role
In the same interaction, Varun Chakaravarthy spoke about his rise as one of India’s key spinners in white-ball cricket. He mentioned that the IPL played a major role in honing his skills, while he also gained valuable experience by featuring in every domestic tournament. The 33-year-old stated:
“It has definitely taken a long time to earn this spot, and as I have mentioned in many other places also that this journey has been long. I didn’t have a vision as to if I would make a comeback or not once I was dropped from the team, but I kept telling myself that if I get certain variations and accuracy levels, then I will be able to make a comeback into the team.”
“That was the only motivating factor, and obviously I had IPL as the platform to showcase whatever I was learning side by side . I also played a lot on the domestic side, like Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophy and other tournaments. I used to travel all around India and play, which eventually gave me a lot of confidence. That was the main aspect of my comeback,” he added.
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