Varun Chakaravarthy is set to lead India's spin attack alongside Ravi Bishnoi in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan scheduled for September 13, 15, and 17 at Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium in Delhi. The 34-year-old spinner returns after a hamstring injury sustained during the third T20I against England, which ruled him out of India's Zimbabwe tour in July.
Chakaravarthy was a key member of India's successful 2026 T20 World Cup campaign, where he took 14 wickets as joint-highest
wicket-taker alongside Jasprit Bumrah. Former India batter Wasim Jaffer has raised concerns about Chakaravarthy's recent form, suggesting that opposition batters have begun to decode his bowling approach. The cricketer-turned-expert opined that batters are not showing any hesitation while attempting big shots when the ball is pitching in their hitting areas.
"Varun Chakaravarthy should hopefully do well because, recently, there have been some difficulties for him. It seems that teams have figured him out a little. The batsmen have figured out how he bowls. Most of his deliveries come into the batsman, and the ball doesn't go away," Jaffer said on his YouTube channel.
"When the ball lands in the batsman's hitting zone, they don't hesitate to play their shots. They understand that Varun generally looks for the bat-pad gap. So, this will be a very important series for him," he added.
Chakaravarthy's recent IPL 2026 campaign with Kolkata Knight Riders saw him play 11 matches, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 32.73 with a strike rate of 22.3 and an economy rate of 8.78. His best performance in the tournament came with figures of 3 for 14. The spinner's struggles with consistency and variation have become a point of discussion among cricket analysts as he prepares for the Afghanistan series.
Afghanistan are dangerous in this format: Wasim Jaffer
Jaffer also cautioned India against underestimating Afghanistan in the T20 format. The former batter warned that while India should dominate the series, Afghanistan possess the capability to pose a significant challenge and potentially win at least one match.
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"Afghanistan are dangerous in this format. So, overall, I feel India should dominate, but don’t be surprised if Afghanistan beat India in one match and pose a challenge. I don’t think we should take them lightly. I feel this will be a slightly challenging series. India should win the series, otherwise, it would obviously be a very poor performance," Jaffer said.
