We discuss Virat, Rohit & Shami, now he additionally belongs in that class

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that Varun Chakravarthy belongs in the same category as senior veterans like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Mohammad Shami, now that he is over 35 years of age. The mystery spinner has returned from injury once again to be included in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, scheduled to begin on October 22.

Varun Chakravarthy has had an injury-ridden year, particularly after the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He suffered injuries in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season and the tour of England, a few months later. After completing his recovery and rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence (CoE), he was injured in his return match against Afghanistan and missed the Asian Games 2026 and the home series against West Indies.

The selectors have shown faith by including him and Kuldeep Yadav for the New Zealand tour as the primary T20I spinners, while Ravi Bishnoi missed out. Mohammad Kaif feels that the veteran spinner is still above Kuldeep Yadav in the pecking order and has a lot to offer in the upcoming series.

“Varun Chakravarthy has a high release point and variations, so he will get extra bounce in New Zealand. His morale must be high because in the last couple of years whenever he has played, he has contributed for India. But, he is getting injured a lot recently. He is also not getting any younger. If you look at his age. We talk about Virat, Rohit, and Shami, now he also belongs in that category,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.

“But I still think that he is ahead of Kuldeep at this time. When they sit to make the playing XI, Varun will certainly be there, because he can bowl in the powerplay and later on as well, and he is a wicket-taker for the Indian team,” Kaif added.

India T20I squad for New Zealand series: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav

Varun Chakravarthy has never played a T20I in New Zealand

The upcoming tour will prove to be a massive challenge for Varun Chakravarthy in many ways, including adapting to the conditions. The mystery spinner has played in six different countries over the course of his T20I career, but has never featured in New Zealand.

He has taken 18 wickets in nine innings in the other three SENA countries, including 12 wickets in four matches in South Africa.

Edited by Gokul Nair