Gautam Gambhir’s animated post-match chat with Varun Chakaravarthy raises eyebrows

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir sparked curiosity among the cricket fraternity when he was spotted having an animated conversation with spinner Varun Chakaravarthy after the hosts’ seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first T20I at Gwalior on October 6.

Chakaravarthy stole the show with his career-best figures of 3/31, showcasing his mysterious prowess as a spinner after making a spectacular comeback to the Indian cricket team after a long 1066-day hiatus.

Varun Chakaravarthy shines with career-best figures on his comeback

The 33-year-old's comeback was marked by ups and downs. In his opening over, Varun Chakaravarthy created a chance to remove Towhid Hridoy, but a fielding blunder allowed the ball to escape to the boundary.

Despite this shaky start, Chakaravarthy quickly redeemed himself, taking crucial wickets in his second and third overs, including Jaker Ali and Rishad Hossain, to finish the game with his best international figures.

Apart from Varun, Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh also returned with a three-wicket haul to help the Men in Blue restrict Bangladesh to a paltry 127 runs at the Madhavrao Scindia International Cricket Stadium in Gwalior on Sunday.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the top scorer for the Tigers with 35*. Later, Team India chased down the target easily with Hardik Pandya’s blistering knock of unbeaten 39 runs off 16 balls guiding the hosts to a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in the ongoing three-match T20I series opener with 49 balls to spare in Gwalior.

Gautam Gambhir and Varun Chakaravarthy's animated chat raises eyebrows after India’s win over Bangladesh

Apart from Pandya, India captain Suryakumar Yadav (29 runs off 14 balls) and Sanju Samson (29 runs off 19 balls) also cracked some fireworks in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior.

After India took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing T20I series against Bangladesh, all eyes were on the post-match discussions as Varun Chakaravarthy was seen walking alongside the coach Gautam Gambhir, his former mentor at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), joined by bowling coach Morne Morkel.

The animated exchange between Gambhir and Chakaravarthy stirred curiosity among fans and cricket pundits, with former India coach Ravi Shastri voicing his own curiosity during the live broadcast. Could Gambhir be mapping out an exciting future for the Indian spinner?

Gautam Gambhir could have seen a lot of Varun Chakaravarthy at KKR: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri said on JioCinema: “You can see Varun Chakaravarthy having a chat with Gautam Gambhir. He took three wickets. Gautam could have seen a lot of him at KKR as well. He's probably just telling him about either the pace at which he was bowling or the fields on which he should bowl. Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, is also there, and he will tactically add a lot to Varun's game.”

Notably, Varun Chakaravarthy has been enjoying a great time with the ball this year, as he first finished as the leading wicket-taker for the IPL 2024 champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he claimed 21 wickets in just 14 matches.

Then, in August, the spinner continued his stellar for the Ravichandran Ashwin-led Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Varun ended the recent TNPL 2024 with 12 wickets to help the Dindigul Dragons clinch the trophy.

Chakaravarthy's remarkable performances in both IPL 2024 and TNPL 2024 paved the way for his return to the Indian cricket team after three years, and he shone in his very opportunity.