Huge blow for India as Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of remaining T20I series vs Afghanistan

India have received a huge setback during their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which is being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Their star spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, has been ruled out of the remainder of the T20I series against the opposition due to injury.  

Varun returned to action after completing his recovery, having already picked up the injury during the England series in the United Kingdom. It’s an extended chapter in India’s list of players who are getting injured even after getting fully recovered.

Chakravarthy's injury comeback cut short after just one match raises questions over BCCI's CoE

Chakravarthy turned up for India’s post-match press conference, following the blue brigade’s seven-wicket win in the series opener on September 13. However, it has been reported that he won’t be able to participate in the second and third match of the series against Afghanistan, which are scheduled to take place on September 15 and 17. 

See Also: Watch: Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar enjoy biryani in Bengaluru after missing the IND vs SL Test Series

Injury setbacks have made Varun’s progress slow throughout the 2026 season. His season started on a frustrating note with a fractured toe during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, when he was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side.

It was followed by a hamstring injury that sidelined him mid-series during the five-match T20I series against England. He underwent the BCCI Centre of Excellence, where he proved his fitness to earn a call-up.

1/16 in 4 overs — Chakravarthy was India's most economical bowler before the setback

Chakravarthy bowled with the best line and length during his spell and ended up with figures of 1/16 in his four overs at an economy rate of four. The Afghanistan batters, hardly, had any option or idea how would they come up against the mystery spinner during the opening T20I of the series.

See Also: Complete list of Indian players who are currently at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE)

On the final delivery of the seventh over, Chakravarthy dismissed Darwish Rasooli for two runs. The batter was on the back foot to the ball that he should have played on the front foot. He was late to bring down the bat as the ball uprooted the leg stump to send the batter back.

Afghanistan were restricted to 156 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs thanks to the unbeaten 64-run knock of Azmatullah Omarzai. India completed the chase by eight wickets with 38 balls to spare as Abhishek Sharma drilled 82 runs off just 32 balls, thanks to seven boundaries and as many sixes.