Former Indian cricketer Hemang Badani lashed out at mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy after the latter failed to clear the fitness test at the NCA and was ruled out of the upcoming India vs England T20I series.
Varun Chakravarthy on account of his brilliant performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was picked in the Indian T20 squad for the tour of Australia but later was ruled out of the series due to a shoulder injury.
However, after recovering from the injury, Varun Chakravarthy was included in the India T20 squad for the five-match series against England starting on March 12.
Before joining the squad Chakravarthy failed to clear the fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) repeatedly, which further ruled him out of the T20I series.
IND v ENG 2021: Varun Chakravarthy to work at NCA to achieve fitness targets – Report
While addressing the same, former Indian batsman Hemang Badani slammed Varun Chakravarthy and asked what the latter was doing in the last 3-4 months when he wasn’t playing any cricket and nursing a shoulder injury.
“Understand a lot of ppl r upset with Varun not available for selection as he failed the fitness test but my question is what was he doing the last 3/4 mts when he wasn't playing any cricket and nursing a shoulder injury. All players are aware of the test & he shd av been ready,” Hemang Badani Tweeted.
Talking about the same a senior BCCI official said that Varun Chakravarthy was selected after getting recovered from a shoulder injury but he failed to clear the YoYo test mark twice.
"Varun Chakravarthy was selected because he recovered from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Australia series. He did his rehab at the NCA and started throwing normally. However, he has failed to clear the YoYo test mark stipulated for a 2km run at least twice,” Senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Official further questioned selectors for picking Varun Chakravarthy and said that Chakravarthy's case is a 'lesson' for all Indian selectors, adding that a player shouldn't be selected for his batting/bowling alone.
"We can understand he was doing his rehab during Mushtaq Ali (T20 Championship). But then again, he didn't play a single Vijay Hazare Trophy game. How do you assess his match fitness based on games that he played five months back?
"I guess Varun Chakravarthy is a lesson for selectors. If a player is generally not maintaining the standards set by this Indian team, his bowling alone can't be criteria for selection," he said.
Chakravarty’s replacement is yet to be named. However, young Mumbai Indians leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who is in the Indian team bio-bubble since the start of the Test series, is likely to be added to the squad.
(PTI inputs)
