Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of remaining Afghanistan T20Is and Asian Games after side strain

Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the second and third T20Is against Afghanistan in Delhi and of India’s Asian Games campaign after suffering a side strain following the first T20I in Delhi on Sunday. He had only recently returned to international cricket following a two-month injury lay-off.

Chakravarthy made his comeback in the first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi and bowled his full quota of four overs, taking 1/16 as India won the series opener by seven wickets. He experienced discomfort in his side after that spell, which forced him to miss the second T20I in Delhi on Tuesday and will also keep him out of the third and final match on September 17.

According to a source quoted by PTI, leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam has replaced Varun, although India have not named an official replacement. "Varun is out for an indefinite period of time. Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav were the two available options from the long list. Kuldeep will play the West Indies ODIs later this month," the BCCI source said.

India have already secured the T20I series against Afghanistan after winning the first two matches. Nitish Kumar Reddy has made an impact with the ball during the series, and Ravi Bishnoi has been handed an opportunity following Chakravarthy’s absence; Axar Patel also bowled 1/27 in the opening T20I.

Chakravarthy’s setback follows a Grade 2 hamstring injury sustained during India’s tour of England in July; he underwent rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru before returning to competitive cricket in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He featured for Dindigul Dragons in one TNPL match in August, finishing with figures of 0/34, prior to being selected for the Afghanistan series.

Chakravarthy is the latest Indian player to miss out because of injury: Harshit Rana was ruled out of both the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games after failing to recover in time, with Yash Thakur named as his replacement. Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy have recently returned after injury concerns, with Washington and Nitish cleared to play following fitness assessments and Bumrah included in both squads.

India will play the third T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi on September 17 before facing Japan in a one-off T20I on September 22, and their Asian Games campaign begins with the men's cricket quarter-finals on September 28, followed by the semi-finals on October 1 and the final on October 3. India's Asian Games squad is: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yash Thakur.