Not many players understand reinvention the way Varun Chakaravarthy does. Once written off after the 2021 T20 World Cup, he returned to the global stage in 2026 as the highest-ranked T20I bowler in the world. The tournament that followed was fascinating. Part domination, part dissection, and there was even a time when India seriously pondered dropping him for the biggest game, the final against New Zealand.
From 2021 heartbreak to becoming world No. 1
The memory of the 2021 T20 World Cup would’ve lingered around Chakaravarthy’s career. Back then he had entered the tournament as India’s mystery weapon, only to leave it without a single wicket in three matches. Batters seemed comfortable against him, and once the tournament ended, so did his place in the Indian side.
What followed was a long phase of hard work. For 1,064 days, Chakaravarthy remained out of India’s plans. Instead of fading away, he went back to the basics. Along with his coach AC Prathiban, he rebuilt his bowling method. The biggest change came in the type of spin he generated. Earlier, he relied heavily on sidespin. Now he started bowling with more overspin, giving the ball extra dip and sharper bounce off the pitch.
He also increased his pace through the air and sharpened the googly, which soon became his most effective weapon.
The transformation worked. His performances in IPL 2024 pushed him back into the national team. In the following months he played a massive role in India’s Champions Trophy and Asia Cup wins in 2025. By December that year he had climbed to the top of the ICC rankings, touching 818 rating points, the highest ever achieved by an Indian bowler in T20Is.
Heading into the 2026 World Cup, Chakaravarthy was widely seen as India’s biggest spin threat. No other full-member bowler took more wickets than Chakaravarthy in T20Is.
Varun Chakaravarthy stats in T20 World Cup 2026
| Innings | Overs | Wickets | Average | Economy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Until Group Stage | 4 | 12 | 9 | 6.88 | 5.16 |
| Since Super 8 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 45 | 11.84 |
T20 World Cup 2026: Unforgettable in many ways
For the first half of the tournament, he justified every bit of that reputation. Across the group stage, Chakaravarthy looked almost impossible to score off. He picked up nine wickets in four matches at an economy rate of just 5.17. His best spell came against Namibia in Delhi, where he finished with 3 for 7, while Pakistan also struggled against him on a slow Colombo surface, where he returned figures of 2 for 17.
At that stage, he had taken nine wickets in just 12 overs. For many teams, he was the bowler they simply wanted to survive. Then the tournament changed.
Once the Super Eight stage began and stronger batting line-ups came into play, the same mystery that once troubled batters started to look less intimidating. Opponents attacked him from the outset. Left-handers in particular targeted his lengths. David Miller struck 24 from 13 balls against him, Shimron Hetmyer went after him, and England’s Jacob Bethell hammered 43 from just 13 deliveries.
Varun Chakarvarthy by length since Super 8
| Length | Balls | Runs | Wickets | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good (3-5m) | 12 | 42 | – | – | 21.00 |
| Back of length (5-6m) | 24 | 46 | 2 | 23.00 | 11.50 |
| Short (more than 6m) | 59 | 97 | 2 | 48.50 | 9.80 |
His numbers were awful. From the Super Eight stage onwards he managed only four wickets in four matches while conceding runs at 11.62 per over. The low point came in the semifinal against England at Wankhede where he conceded 64 runs in four overs, one of the most expensive spells in T20 World Cup history. There were even murmurs about replacing him before the final. His performance was heavily underpar. With someone like Kuldeep Yadav sitting on the bench, India would’ve easily replaced a bowler if he performed like Chakaravarthy.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav, however, stayed firm. Chakaravarthy played the final in Ahmedabad and finished with 1 for 39 in three overs as India defeated New Zealand to lift the trophy. In the aftermath, he has lost his World No. 1 spot as well to Rashid Khan.
By the end of the tournament, he still had 14 wickets to his name, tied with Jasprit Bumrah as the highest among bowlers from full-member nations. But the story was never just about the wickets. It was how easily batters faced him. The zip went missing. Now, with his 35th birthday in August, you would expect the clock is ticking for Chakaravarthy. He may still play the IPL for multiple seasons but considering the next ODI World Cup is in South Africa and Zimbabwe, you might expect Kuldeep to be the lone spinner in the XI.
Cricket
IPL 2026 schedule announced, RCB vs SRH on March 28; check Phase 1 fixtures
