Ravindra Jadeja handing out ODI cap to Varun Chakravarthy [Source: @BCCI/x]
Varun Chakravarthy made his ODI debut through the course of India’s second match of the series against England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The 33-year-old received his maiden ODI cap following stellar T20I series with the ball against South Africa (away) and against England at home.
Legendary Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja commemorated the occasion by delivering an inspiring speech to Chakravarthy, and also handed the latter his first ODI cap during a team huddle prior to the game.
Chakravarthy celebrates ODI debut with Jadeja’s speech
During a team huddle prior to the game, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir instructed seasoned all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to hand over the ‘debutant cap’ to 33-year-old spinner Varun Chakravarthy. Before handing Chakravarthy his desired cap, Jadeja signified the occasion and extended his best wishes to the newest introduction to India’s ODI pantheon.
Notably, Varun Chakravarthy celebrated his debut ODI by getting Team India a much-needed breakthrough in the form of raging English opener Phil Salt. Tasked to bowl the ninth over of the English innings by captain Rohit Sharma, Chakravarthy struck in the second over of his opening spell by tossing the ball up, baiting Salt to go across the line for an attempted big shot. Incidentally, the ball landed straight into the bucket hands of Ravindra Jadeja at mid-on.
Varun Chakravarthy stats
Before making his ODI debut, Varun Chakravarthy played 18 T20Is for Team India, ever since playing his first international match back in July 2021. The cricketer picked up 33 wickets in the format at an impressive bowling average of 14.57, including 14 of them in the recently-concluded five-match T20I series against England.
He has also played 23 List A matches, picking up an astonishing haul of 59 wickets at an average of 14.13.