Varun Chakaravarthy ruled out of Afghanistan series, Asian Games participation in limbo; BCCI provides crucial update

Varun Chakaravarthy officially ruled out of the Afghanistan series. Here's what the BCCI said.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday confirmed that Varun Chakaravarthy has indeed been ruled out of the remaining two T20Is against Afghanistan after picking up a side strain. The injury happened during the series opener on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium when he was bowling his third over, as he felt discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region.

Varun Chakaravarthy officially ruled out of the Afghanistan series. (Rahul Singh)

He was then taken for further scans, which revealed a side strain; hence, he has now been ruled out of the remaining matches. Ravi Bishnoi came in as his replacement for the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. However, the management refrained from naming a replacement player in the initially chosen 15-member squad.

Varun Chakaravarthy experienced sudden-onset discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region while bowling his third over in the first T20I. Scans have revealed a side strain, and he has subsequently been ruled out of the remaining two T20Is," BCCI's handle wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Chakaravarthy has been battling injuries since the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He picked up a hamstring injury on the tour of the UK, and it ruled him out of the next assignment against Zimbabwe.

In the series opener against Afghanistan, the experienced spinner scalped one wicket, conceding just 16 runs in his quota of four overs. With this latest injury setback, the spotlight has once again fallen on the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and its management of the players.

The Asian Games fixtures

With a short turnaround period for the Asian Games, it's highly unlikely that Chakaravarthy would recover in time for the competition. The spinner would first be required to visit the CoE and get a fitness clearance to join the squad.

India will next play against Japan on September 22 before beginning its Asian Games campaign on September 28. The injury setback was nothing new, as prior to the contest against Afghanistan, Harshit Rana was ruled out of the ongoing series and also the Asian Games.

Yash Thakur was then named as his replacement. Earlier, Harshit, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar were named in the squad for the Afghanistan series subject to fitness clearance and just days before the series opener, Harshit failed to get the desired certificate and hence was ruled out.