Varun Chakaravarthy claims receiving death threats after 10-wicket Pakistan loss

KARACHI: India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy recalled the ‘dark time’ he went through after they suffered a humiliating 10-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

Pakistan, who had not defeated fierce rivals India in World Cup encounters until then, achieved the long-awaited victory in a commanding fashion as a remarkable bowling performance by Shaheen Shah Afridi, followed by unbeaten half-centuries from openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, led them to a 10-wicket triumph.

Chakaravarthy, who was playing his first match against Pakistan, had a rough outing with the ball as the spinner returned below-par bowling figures of 0/33 in his quota of four overs.

After India’s group-stage exit from the tournament, Chakaravarthy was dropped from the side and did not return until three more years.

The 33-year-old made his long-awaited return to the international side in October last year and cemented his place with consistent performances.

He was subsequently named in India’s squad for the recently concluded ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 and played a pivotal role in their successful campaign by taking nine wickets in three innings at an average of just 15.11.

Meanwhile, in a recent with an Indian news outlet, the spinner recalled a disturbing time of his career when he was threatened after the men in blue’s defeat against Pakistan and was warned against returning to the country.

He further revealed that people chased him and tracked his house which forced him to ‘hide’ on several occasions.

“It was a dark time for me. I was in depression because I thought I was not able to do justice after I was picked for the T20 World Cup with a lot of hype. I regretted not taking even one wicket. After that, for three years, I was not selected. So, I think the comeback to the team was tougher than the path to my debut,” Varun Chakaravarthy said.

“After the 2021 World Cup, I received threat calls. People said, ‘Don’t come to India. If you try, you won’t be able to’. People approached my house and tracked me down, and I sometimes had to hide. When I was returning from the airport, some people followed me on their bikes,” he added.