T20 World Cup 2021: BCCI Provides Update On Spinner Varun Chakravarthy's Injury
Published - 03 Nov 2021, 09:56 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:00 AM
Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy missed India‘s clash with Afghanistan on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. At the toss, skipper Virat Kohli said that Varun Chakravarthy is suffering from a niggle and hence misses out.
Now, the BCCI has revealed the exact issue with the spinner’s fitness. The board stated that Varun Chakravarthy has a left calf niggle and therefore was rendered unavailable for selection for Wednesday’s match.
He was replaced in the eleven by R Ashwin, who will be playing his first T20I for India since July 2017!
Varun Chakravarthy, who had been in form during the IPL, went wicketless in both matches so far in the T20 World Cup, returning with figures of 0/23 against New Zealand and 0/33 against Pakistan.
“Varun Chakaravarthy has a left calf issue. He was not available for selection for this game,” a BCCI media statement said, as quoted by NDTV Sports.
Kohli also announced another change: Suryakumar Yadav is fit and back in the eleven; he replaces Ishan Kishan. Yadav missed the New Zealand encounter due to back spasms.
Rohit-Rahul provide India a solid base
Mohammad Nabi won the coin toss and elected to field first, citing dew as the primary reason for this decision. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, reunited at the top, gave India a quick start. Sharma lofted Nabi for a boundary in the first over before both of them took 16 runs off the second over, bowled by Sharafuddin Ashraf.
The fifth over, bowled by Naveen-ul-Haq, yielded 17 runs for India as Sharma hammered the pacer for two fours and a six. India finished the powerplay at 53/0.
Afghanistan tried to pull things back, but Rashid Khan, their main man, leaked 11 runs in his second over. At the time of writing, India are 85/0 at the 10-over mark and set for a big finish.
