Varun Chakaravarthy (Source: AFP)Over the past few years, the emergence of ‘mystery’ bowlers has brought a sense of excitement to the batter-dominated era of cricket. The same feeling was experienced in Indian cricket when Varun Chakaravarthy started making his way as a mystery spinner.An architect by profession, Varun Chakaravarthy made his international debut against Sri Lanka in 2021. However, due to underwhelming performances, he was soon dropped from the national setup.Nonetheless, on the back of successful campaigns in the Tamil Nadu T20 League and Indian Premier League, Chakaravarthy made a well-deserved return to the Indian white-ball teams.During India’s historic 2026 T20 World Cup campaign, Chakaravarthy played a vital role, helping them defend their title. He finished as the joint highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps to his name.Varun Chakaravarthy's struggle with injuries in 2026But unfortunately, towards the business end of the T20 World Cup 2026, he suffered fractures in two fingers of his left hand, but played through it. However, since then, recurrent injuries have marred the Indian spinner’s availability for all the recent T20I series. Also read: Varun Chakaravarthy Replacements Who Can Come In India’s T20 Squad vs AfghanistanThat being said, in this article, we have prepared Varun Chakaravarthy’s injury timeline; take a look ahead. 1) Hairline fracture in left foot and fractured fingers in IPL 2026The Kolkata Knight Riders’ spinner Varun Chakaravarthy entered the IPL 2026 season while recovering from two fractures in the fingers of his non-bowling hand early in the season. However, he further suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot during a match against Delhi Capitals on May 8, 2026.He was spotted wearing a protective boot and walking on crutches ahead of the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.On May 21, 2026, KKR’s assistant coach, Shane Watson, revealed in a press conference that he was “playing through a bit of pain". As part of KKR’s high-performing spin duo with Sunil Narine, Varun had to continue playing for a reeling KKR.However, the fact that Varun continued to play despite severe injuries didn’t go well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which raised questions with the franchise but lastly left them to do the right thing.2. Missed Ireland T20I series due to lingering foot injury (June 2026)India’s preparations for the T20I series against Ireland suffered a major setback when Varun Chakaravarthy was ruled out for the 2-match series.Ahead of the series, the BCCI confirmed the news, stating that India's T20 World Cup hero was in the final stages of rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) after sustaining a left foot injury during the closing stages of the IPL 2026.The mystery spinner continued his recovery programme and was not allowed to travel with the squad.3. Ruled out of 4th and 5th T20Is vs England due to hamstring injury (July 2026)Chakaravarthy returned to the international squad for India’s white-ball tour to England in July 2026. After the first IND vs ENG T20I match was abandoned due to rain, he featured in India’s playing 11 for the second clash.Playing his first international game after a four-month hiatus since the 2026 T20 World Cup final on March 8, Chakaravarthy looked out of rhythm. He leaked as many 72 runs in his 7 overs, with a wicket to his name, in the first and second games.However, the Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy, along with Harshit Rana, were ruled out of the fourth and fifth T20Is against England with injuries. Chakaravarthy sustained a hamstring injury in the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge.Thus, once again, an injury ruled him out of the rest of the series, adding to an already tainted Varun Chakaravarthy injury list.4. Fresh side strain ruled him out of rest of T20 series vs Afghanistan (September 2026)Indian team suffered a significant blow ahead of the two remaining T20Is against Afghanistan in the ongoing T20I series. The setback came after an MRI scan confirmed that the 35-year-old spinner sustained a fresh side strain injury.Chakaravarthy picked up the injury following the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, September 13.The mystery bowler had produced an exceptional performance in the series opener, returning tidy figures of 1/16 in his four overs without conceding a single boundary to help India secure a comfortable seven-wicket win.Varun Chakaravarthy's Asian Games participation in jeopardyIt is important to note that the timing of Varun Chakaravarthy’s injury is particularly disappointing, raising concerns over his participation in the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.The Indian spinner has been the pick of the bowlers for the national team in T20Is. As of September 2026, he has picked 73 wickets in 43 games at an economy of 7.84 since his India return in 2024. Statistically, he has been the most successful spinner for India during this period. Thus, his void is a big one to fill, going into the Asian Games 2026.Also read: Mohsin Naqvi's PCB Identifies New Targets To Lose Pakistan Job Amid Trophy Drama
