Photo via Hindustan Times

Varun Chakaravarthy suffers yet another injury, ruled out of Afghanistan T20Is, CoE under further scanner: Report

India's bowling department has sustained a major blow as mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was sidelined for the rest of the three-game T20I contest against Afghanistan due to a newly diagnosed side strain. The setback arrived immediately following his standout display at Arun Jaitley Stadium, where he gave up just 16 runs across four overs and took the wicket of Darwish Rasooli during a dominant seven-wicket triumph that gave the hosts a 1-0 advantage.

An MRI confirmed the issue, which now puts his Asian Games participation in serious jeopardy. With the second fixture slated for Tuesday at the identical ground, the squad will rely on wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi alongside all-round spin choices Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

This immediate breakdown after a single match has placed the BCCI's Centre of Excellence under intense scrutiny, particularly because Chakravarthy had only just completed an extensive two-month recovery program there. His initial layoff stemmed from a Grade 2 left hamstring problem sustained during July's third T20I against England, causing him to skip the Zimbabwe tour.