India’s preparations for the Asian Games received a major blow after mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out of the tournament due to a fresh injury sustained during the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan.
Chakravarthy had only just returned to the Indian side after recovering from an injury he suffered during the England T20I series. His comeback, however, only lasted a single match.
He bowled four overs without conceding a single boundary in the series opener against Afghanistan in New Delhi, but the Indian cricket board later confirmed he felt sudden discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region while bowling his third over.
MRI scans revealed the side strain was severe enough to rule him out of the remainder of the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games as well, Sports Today reported.
Cricket at the 2026 Asian Games runs from September 17 to October 3 in Aichi, Japan.
The injury is a significant setback for India’s title defence as the side won gold in the men’s competition at the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023, and had been counting on Chakravarthy’s wrist spin as a key part of their bowling attack.
India will now need to turn to another spin option. Ravi Bishnoi is already part of the squad travelling to Japan.
