India, March 3 -- Varun Chakravarthy is a late entrant into competitive and, by extension, international cricket. He was 27 when he played his first and only Ranji Trophy game for Tamil Nadu. A month shy of his 30th birthday at the time of his first Twenty20 International in July 2021, he was picked for the T20 World Cup that same year on the back of his 'mystery'.

Chosen ahead of senior spinner R Ashwin, Chakravarthy had a tournament to forget, much like India, who crashed out at the first hurdle. Three outings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium failed to produce a single wicket; after finishing with none for 71 from 11 overs against Pakistan, New Zealand and Scotland, he went out of circulation, ignored by the national selector...