Ravi Ashwin blames Punjab Kings for not backing Varun Chakaravarthy

For failing to support mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in the early years of his IPL career, Ravichandran Ashwin has subtly poked fun at Punjab Kings. Speaking on his Kutty Stories YouTube channel, Ashwin disclosed that he had asked the Punjab management to keep Chakaravarthy on board, but they had disregarded his suggestion.

At the IPL 2019 auction, Punjab Kings (then known as Kings XI Punjab) purchased Chakaravarthy. Before being released, he only participated in one game that season and took one wicket. The captain of Punjab at the time, Ashwin, claimed that he had attempted to persuade the team to retain Varun but that they had made up their minds.

Varun Chakravarthy was purchased by Punjab for INR 8.4 crore at the 2019 IPL auction. In the 2019 IPL, he made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR); however, that would be his only game of the season. After suffering a finger injury, the mystery spinner was unable to compete in the remainder of the event.

He would eventually win the IPL championship with the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024 after being purchased by the team for INR 4 crore.

Speaking about the incident, Ashwin disclosed that he had asked Punjab management to keep Varun in the team before he was traded to the Delhi Capitals ahead of the season. However, they ignored his request and let him go, and KKR took advantage of the situation.

Ashwin said, "Before I moved on to Delhi on trade, one thing I told PBKS is to not leave you, but you were released. You joined KKR, and the rest is history."

This proved to be a significant event in IPL history because Chakaravarthy is currently one of the most sought-after bowlers in the league. Varun Chakravarthy has so far claimed 99 wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 82 games across six seasons. The 33-year-old became the second-fastest spinner to reach 100 IPL wickets in May of this year. He accomplished this in 83 games, which is the same number of games as Rashid Khan and Amit Mishra needed to reach their respective milestones.

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