"He could have easily said no" - Varun Chakravarthy reveals how he got his first big break in IPL

India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy called himself extremely lucky to get his first big breakthrough in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during his struggling days. The remarks came as the renowned franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) hired him as a net bowler during their comeback season (in 2018).

The 33-year-old shared how TS Mohan, who managed the Super Kings' net bowlers that season, went out of his way to give him a chance to prove himself despite coming from the fifth division.

On Sunday (June 29), Varun Chakravarthy told Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel:

“18:14 – (First big break) – That was the year Chennai was coming back to the IPL after two years of not playing. An interesting incident happened at that time. I learned that TS Mohan was handling the net bowlers for CSK. I was going on a scooter and following the CSK bus. I called him from outside the Chepauk Stadium. I called him and said that I bowl mystery spin, and asked if there is a chance I can be a net bowler for CSK.' He asked me about the division I play in. I said that I played in the fifth division. He explained that they only took first-division bowlers and no one else.” “19:01 – See, he could have easily said 'no' to me, but somehow, he just asked me to come meet him the next day. The next day, I saw that every bowler there was from the first division, except me, who was from the lowest division. Something clicked with him, and he first gave the ball to me. All the first-division bowlers were waiting behind me,” he added.

“They were very impressed” – Varun Chakaravarthy on impressing IPL stars at CSK

Varun Chakaravarthy further shared how star IPL players, including captain MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, were impressed with his spin bowling at CSK. He said in the same interaction:

“19:32 – I was bowling to Bravo, and the first two balls were straight beamers. I was so nervous. After that.. I started beating them.. and bowled really well to Bravo, Dhoni, Raina, etc. So, they were very impressed and asked if I’d registered for the IPL." "All of this happened on Day 1 itself. When asked if I had registered for the IPL, I told them that I hadn’t even registered for the first division. So, they asked me to come to do net bowling for CSK,” he narrated.

It's worth mentioning that Varun Chakaravarthy was picked by the Punjab Kings (PBKS) for his debut season in 2019. He then joined Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the subsequent year (2020) and hasn't looked back.

Edited by James Kuanal