Varun Chakaravarthy has suffered another injury setback after complaining of a side strain following India’s second T20I against Afghanistan in New Delhi on Sunday.
Chakaravarthy, who had returned to action after nearly two months of rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, has been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series and could also be doubtful for the Asian Games in Japan.
According to information available with Cricbuzz, the spinner complained of the strain after Sunday night’s match, prompting the team management to release him from the squad. He is expected to travel to Bengaluru and meet the CoE medical team over the next 24-48 hours.
The CoE medical team is likely to conduct scans before a decision is taken on Chakaravarthy’s availability for the Asian Games. With India scheduled to leave for Japan on September 18, however, time is running short.
India will play a bilateral match against Japan on September 22 before beginning its Asian Games campaign on September 28.
Chakaravarthy completed his full quota of four overs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday and appeared to be back to his best. He finished with figures of 1/16, with two no-balls being his only blemish.
The spinner had earlier returned midway from India’s T20I series in England in July after suffering a hamstring injury and subsequently missed the Zimbabwe series. He spent almost two months at the CoE before being picked for the Afghanistan series and Asian Games after being declared fit.
Chakaravarthy had appeared fine after Sunday’s match and spoke about injuries being part and parcel of an athlete’s career during the post-match media interaction.
“Look, injuries are very common for all sportspeople and it just shows that we are working, we are giving our best. Sometimes we push beyond our limits and that is when the body gives in. So, that is when we have to take a step back and work better and come back stronger,” he had said.
