Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy return in first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi
Varun Chakaravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah returned to action for India in the first of three T20Is against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday; Varun finished with 1 for 16 from four overs while Abhishek Sharma scored 82 and Arshdeep Singh took 3 for 19.
Varun’s outing marked a comeback after more than two months out of international cricket; he bowled his full complement of four overs and conceded four an over. The 35-year-old, a late cricketing bloomer who completed a degree in architecture and dabbled in movies, was born in Bidar in Karnataka but plays for Tamil Nadu and remains largely a one-format international — his last of four 50-over matches for India came in the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March 2025. The article notes Varun has spent more time sidelined by injury than his former captain Rohit Sharma and has not been subject to the same microscopic scrutiny.
India were set a target of 157 on a surface the report described as benign, and Afghanistan’s attack was led by captain Rashid Khan with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmad among the bowlers. Left-hander Abhishek Sharma struck seven sixes and seven fours en route to 82, his innings ending when Rashid took a fine catch off the 32nd delivery Abhishek faced; Abhishek was named Player of the Match.
Arshdeep Singh backed up the batting with the ball, finishing with three wickets for 19 runs from four overs. The piece records Arshdeep’s tally for India in the 20-over game as 140 wickets from 93 matches, an economy rate of 8.51 and a strike rate equivalent to a wicket every 14 deliveries, and says his performance made a strong case for the match’s leading individual award.
The report profiles Jasprit Bumrah as “an unusual amalgam,” noting he is second to Arshdeep in India’s T20I wicket-taking list and has 508 international wickets across the three formats. It recalls his India debut in early 2016 at the SCG in an ODI against Australia, references James Anderson’s 704 Test wickets as a comparative figure, and describes aspects of Bumrah’s distinctive action and career-long battles with injuries and surgeries.
Bumrah, 32, returned to international play on Sunday after sustaining an impact knee injury on July 16 in the second of three ODIs against England in Cardiff; that injury ruled him out of the final ODI at Lord’s and the two-Test series in Sri Lanka last month. The piece says India’s management have handled his rehabilitation with care and that Shubman Gill, India’s Test captain for the last 15 months, has had to cope without Bumrah in five of the 11 Tests he has led, including the last three.
The article outlines India’s management strategy around Bumrah: the Afghanistan series is being used to help him regain match rhythm ahead of the Asian Games later this month in Japan, where full-strength India will seek to defend their gold medal. It adds that Bumrah may not be selected for home T20Is against West Indies and in New Zealand in October but will figure in plans for the ODIs in New Zealand before the two Tests that now carry added significance for India’s World Test Championship ambitions; it also states it is almost certain he will not play all five home Tests against Australia beginning in January.
The piece concludes by identifying the team’s longer-term priority for Bumrah: to ensure he is fully prepared for the 50-over World Cup next October in southern Africa, where India will aim to end a 16-year wait; it recalls India’s loss in the final three years ago to Pat Cummins’ Australia and notes the coming tournament will likely represent Bumrah’s final chance at that World Cup, with the article stating he will be eager to add a winners’ medal to the two T20 World Cup titles he has influenced.
