After being overlooked for the Zimbabwe series, one of the top wicket-takers from IPL 2024, Varun Chakravarthy, earned his spot back on the Indian cricket team for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh.
The announcement of the squad on September 28 (Saturday) sparked excitement, particularly with the inclusion of Chakravarthy, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The talented spinner had previously represented India and participated in the 2021 T20 World Cup but fell out of favour for national selection following that tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
Having showcased remarkable skill during IPL 2024, contributing significantly to KKR's championship victory, Chakravarthy caught the attention of the selectors. He had expressed his frustration on social media after not being chosen for the Zimbabwe T20Is post-World Cup 2024 but can now look forward to an exciting opportunity with the national team.
It's worth noting that the 33-year-old spinner previously hinted at dissatisfaction with the national selectors—after his omission—by posting, "I wish I had paid a PR agency" on Instagram. However, it now appears that his impressive IPL performance has convinced the selectors to reintegrate him. This decision may also be connected to Gautam Gambhir, KKR's mentor during their IPL triumph, now serving as the head coach of Team India.
India Squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.