Varun Chakaravarthy Out of T20I Against Japan and Asian Games Due to Injury

Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games due to a side strain. Vipraj Nigam has been called up as his replacement. Chakaravarthy sustained the injury during a match against Afghanistan, marking a setback after his return from a hamstring issue. The BCCI has confirmed the squad changes, with Nigam stepping in and Nitish Kumar Reddy being withdrawn for the ODI series against the West Indies. The article also highlights Nigam's performance in IPL and his recent achievements with India A, as well as India's spin options moving forward.

By Narendra Chaudhary Sep 16, 2026, 21:40 IST

Chakaravarthy's Injury Update

India's mystery spinner, Varun Chakaravarthy, has been sidelined from the upcoming one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games due to a side strain. His injury occurred during the opening T20I match against Afghanistan in Delhi, marking his first international game after recovering from a hamstring issue, as reported by Cricinfo. Initially, he was expected to miss the remainder of the Afghanistan series but was anticipated to be fit for the Asian Games. Unfortunately, the recent side strain has ruled him out of both events.

BCCI Announces Squad Modifications

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially named Vipraj Nigam as Chakaravarthy's replacement for the T20I against Japan and the Asian Games. Additionally, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was part of the original Asian Games squad, has been withdrawn and will now participate in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.

Introducing Vipraj Nigam

Vipraj Nigam gained recognition during IPL 2025, where he took 11 wickets in 14 matches for the Delhi Capitals, maintaining an economy rate of 9.12. He also scored 142 runs with an impressive strike rate of 179.74. Although his performance in IPL 2026 was less notable, with only 15 runs and two wickets in five matches, he shone for India A in a one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka in June, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker with seven wickets from five matches and scoring 116 runs at a strike rate of 126.08.

India's Spin Bowling Strategy

With Chakaravarthy out of the lineup, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are expected to lead India's spin attack, while Washington Sundar and Nigam will serve as additional options. The team will head to Japan with a 14-member squad for the T20I and Asian Games. The announcement for Reddy's replacement is still pending.

Updated Squad for India

The revised squad for India includes: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, and Vipraj Nigam.