Tamil Nadu spinner Varun Chakravarthy failed his fitness test in the NCA in Bengaluru, which he was required to do before joining the Indian squad for the T20I series against England. This resulted in him being ruled out of the five-T20I series which starts from March 12.
The entire series between India and England will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and it was the second time Varun was picked in the Indian T20I side. The last time he was chosen was for the T20I series in Australia, after his impressive outing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL 2020.
However, it was found that he was carrying an injured shoulder and T Natarajan replaced him in the squad and later made his debut for India in all three formats within two months’ time.
He Should’ve Been Ready For The Fitness Test: A Disappointed Hemang Badani Chides Varun Chakravarthy
Former India and Tamil Nadu cricketer Hemang Badani was utterly disappointed at the news of his state’s player Varun Chakravarthy missing out on a chance of a lifetime. Chakravarthy had been nursing his shoulder injury and undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru under the trained eyes of Rahul Dravid.
Badani took to Twitter and chided Varun Chakravarthy saying that he is surprised that Chakravarthy didn’t work on his fitness during the last 3-4 months, knowing very well that he and every other player will have to undergo fitness tests to be eligible for selection in Indian team.
“What was he doing the last 3-4 months when he wasn’t playing any cricket and nursing a shoulder injury. Understand a lot of ppl r upset with Varun not available for selection as he failed the fitness test. All players are aware of the test & he shd av been ready,” Badani asked on Twitter.
Varun Chakravarthy, along with a few other players who were selected for the England T20I series failed to clear the fitness test, which includes the yo-yo test and a 2km run which has to be completed in a stipulated time.
“Varun Chakravarthy was selected because he recovered from his shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Australia series. He did his rehab at the NCA and started throwing normally. However, he has failed to clear the YoYo test mark stipulated for a 2km run at least twice,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
As per reports, the Indian team might ask Rahul Chahar, who has been with the squad as a reserve player since the Test series, to stay back and add him to the T20I squad for the series against England.
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understand a lot of ppl r upset with Varun not available for selection as he failed the fitness test but my question is what was he doing the last 3/4 mts when he wasn't playing any cricket and nursing a shoulder injury. All players are aware of the test & he shd av been ready.
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) March 10, 2021
