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ToggleVarun Chakravarthy’s first season in the IPL has ended on a disappointing note as the spinner has been ruled out of the remainder of the competition. The Kings XI Punjab spinner failed to recover from a thumb injury that he had sustained earlier in the competition. Chakravarthy, who was purchased by Kings XI Punjab for a record Rs 8.4 crore at last year’s IPL player auction, had fractured his finger earlier this season during the franchise’s visit to Chennai last month.
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Varun Chakravarthy was the joint-costliest player in the last auction. He had hogged the limelight after impressing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League where he helped Siechem Madurai Panthers to their maiden title. In the first two seasons of the league, Madurai did not win a single game and their winless streak stretched to 15 when they lost their first match of the 2018 season to Dindigul Dragons.
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He then took 3 for 16 against Chepauk Super Gillies to help Madurai seal their maiden win. As the season progressed, Varun continued to impress. Overall, he bowled 40 overs, and incredibly 125 balls were dots.
His economy rate of 4.7 was the best among bowlers who had bowled at least 15 overs.
However, he just could not make a mark in the IPL. In his first-ever over in the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders‘ Sunil Narine hit him for three sixes and a four to collect 25 runs. The spinner has not played any game since then and is now out of the league. The franchise had kept him with them in hope that he would recover for the fag end of the competition.
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“While the team were hopeful that Chakravarthy would return for the final few games of the campaign, his recovery however hasn’t been sufficient. The 27-year-old will return home as a result. KXIP wishes him a speedy recovery and the very best for the rest of the year,” Kings XI Punjab said in a media release on Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab are currently at the seventh spot in the IPL points table with five wins from 12 games. They need to win both their games in order to stand a chance of making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.