Varun Chakaravarthy (Source: @KKRWeRule/x.com)
World number one ranked T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy has been selected in Team India squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa at home. Since the series also coincides with a segment of the ongoing 2025 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season, the 34-year-old is set to miss a couple of fixtures for the Tamil Nadu team in the tournament.
Varun Chakravarthy’s national selection has now prompted the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) to name vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batter Narayan Jagadeesan as the stand-in skipper of the team for the time being.
Narayan Jagadeesan to lead Tamil Nadu in SMAT 2025
Narayan Jagadeesan is set to lead the Tamil Nadu cricket team in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 season in the absence of regular skipper Varun Chakravarthy, as confirmed by the TNCA on Wednesday, December 3.
A few days ago, Varun Chakravarthy was named in India’s 15-player squad for the upcoming home five-match T20I series against South Africa, thus reprising his role in the national 20-overs squad from last month’s white-ball tour of Australia.
Apart from appointing Narayan Jagadeesan as Tamil Nadu’s stand-in captain for the time being, the state association also named IPL cult hero Sai Sudharsan as team’s new vice-captain.
In hindsight, Varun Chakravarthy will likely miss no more than two matches for the Tamil Nadu this SMAT season. While the senior spinner is set to lead his team against Tripura at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on December 4, he might miss out Tamil Nadu’s next Elite Group B match against Jharkhand on December 6 and their subsequent fixture on December 8 against Saurashtra.
India’s five-match T20I series against South Africa, meanwhile, will commence from December 9 onwards in Cuttack. The series will conclude on December 19 in Ahmedabad, i.e., long before Tamil Nadu’s next SMAT 2025 outing on December 24 at the same venue against Puducherry.
