Follow UsVarun Chakaravarthy’s rise from being an amateur cricketer to an IPL star is something that’s well documented. It’s only in his mid-to-late 20s that Chakaravarthy started pursuing cricket professionally, and he had a meteoric rise post 2018, impressing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) before getting picked in the IPL 2019 auction.
However, one story that’s not too mainstream is how Chennai Super Kings (CSK) kick-started the mystery spinner’s IPL career.
Chakaravarthy started his IPL career off with Punjab Kings before becoming a superstar at Kolkata Knight Riders, but it all began for him at CSK, where he started his journey as a net bowler.
"[Before IPL 2018] I came to know that Mr. TS Mohan is handling all the net bowlers for CSK. I was following the CSK bus and outside Chepauk I called him and asked him if I could be a net bowler for CSK. He asked what division I play in (in Tamil Nadu), and I said fifth division. He initially said that he only took first division bowlers, but for some reason he asked me to come the next day,” Chakaravarthy revealed to Ashwin on the latter’s YouTube channel.
"When I went there [to the nets], everyone except me was a first division bowler. Again, something clicked and I was the one who got thrown the ball first. The first two balls I bowled to Dwayne Bravo, and they were straight beamers. I was so nervous.
“But after that, I started beating the batters and I bowled well to Bravo, Dhoni, Raina and others. They were all impressed and asked me If I had registered for the IPL. I told them I had not even registered for the TN first division [laughs]. So then I got finalised as a net bowler for CSK.”
To Chakaravarthy’s dismay, post CSK’s first home game, all of the side’s home matches got shifted out of Chepauk due to the Cauvery water dispute. But that’s when a magic call arrived from Dinesh Karthik.
"Then unfortunately, after two matches at Chepauk, everything shifted from Chennai to Pune. Then they didn't take me there. It was at that time I got a call from DK, who asked me to join as a net bowler for KKR. That's where I met Abhishek Nayar, and that's when everything started changing,” Chakaravarthy revealed.
TNPL 2018 saw the mystery spinner take 9 wickets at an economy of 4.7 as his side Madurai Panters won the title. He then was purchased for 8.4 cr ahead of IPL 2019 by Punjab Kings, who were captained by Ashwin.