'My Peak Is Yet To Come'

A week after the Champions Trophy triumph, spinner Varun talks about his India comeback, what this victory means and his way forward. Gomesh S took notes during a candid chat...

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It has been a week since the Men in Blue donned the white blazers and lifted the Champions Trophy on a starry Sunday night in Dubai. At the centre of India's march was Varun Chakravarthy, whose success is a redemption story in itself.

The Tamil Nadu spinner, who took nine wickets in three games in the desert, was left out of the Indian side after the early exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup at the same venue. He went back, made a four-year plan and scripted his comeback, one chapter at a time. It started with the 2024 IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders, a T20I comeback, an ODI debut just before the Champions Trophy and then, of course, playing a big role.

In a freewheeling chat with this daily, the 33-year-old talks about the CT win, emotions during the winning moment, his comeback journey, and more. For someone who took to cricket professionally only at the age of 26, Varun is just getting started. He has his eyes on the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup and believes that his peak is yet to come. Excerpts...

On his reaction during the winning moment

That was a great moment. No thoughts, my mind was totally blank. I don't even remember what I did when I saw the video where I banged the ball (into the floor). That was the first time I think I let my emotions take over me and I think it is okay because we won the Champions Trophy after a very long season. Everyone deserved it, we all had a good time.