He returned to India's T20I setup after missing 86 T20Is.
Sports nutritionist Suraj Thakuria revealed the secret behind the exceptional transformation by Varun Chakravarthy that led to his stunning form since the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Chakravarthy has been in exceptional form in white-ball cricket, having taken 41 wickets in the last 16 matches he played for India since IPL 2024.
TBW
0/0
BVB
183/5
AMR
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TBC
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ABF
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GAW
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SLK
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TKR
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NDT
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ODW
142/7
NDS
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EDR
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WDL
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PD
–
NDSW
118/5
EDRW
116/4
North Delhi Strikers Women beat East Delhi Riders Women by 2 runs
AUST
88/7
BEL
136/6
Belgium beat Austria by 48 runs
AUST
115/7
BEL
153/2
Belgium beat Austria by 38 runs
AUST
136/3
BEL
131/6
Austria beat Belgium by 7 wickets
AUST
146/0
BEL
142/4
Austria beat Belgium by 10 wickets
ROM
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CZR
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ROM
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CZR
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ROM
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CZR
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ROM
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CZR
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AUST
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BEL
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AUST
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BEL
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ROM
195/4
CZR
170/7
Romania beat Czech Republic by 25 runs
ROM
157/8
CZR
159/6
Czech Republic beat Romania by 4 wickets
KHTC
147/6
VFB
149/4
VFB Fallersleben beat 1.Kieler HTC by 6 wickets
KSV
173/3
SGFD
137/6
KSV Kings beat SG Findorff by 36 runs
SGFD
152/8
VFB
116/8
SG Findorff beat VFB Fallersleben by 36 runs
SGFD
82/10
KSV
87/3
KSV Kings beat SG Findorff by 7 wickets
LAN
249/9
BB
157/3
DER
120/1
SURR
388/4
YOR
354/7
DURH
74/6
WOR
88/3
GLAM
297/7
NOT
70/2
GLO
343/7
PNG
205/10
DEN
223/8
Denmark beat Papua New Guinea by 18 runs
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NED-W
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GER-W
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BAN
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IND
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TBC
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TBC
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TBC
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ALRS
151/7
TTS
152/3
Thrissur Titans beat Alleppey Ripples by 7 wickets
ARKS
164/9
ATR
165/6
Adani Trivandrum Royals beat Aries Kollam Sailors by 4 wickets
KBTS
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ALRS
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TTS
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CAGS
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HBT
173/2
GBM
172/7
Hubli Tigers beat Gulbarga Mystics by 8 wickets
SML
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MGD
200/5
HBT
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MYW
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BNB
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GBM
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RNC
124/9
YSG
152/8
Yallah Shabab Giants beat Renaissance Challengers by 28 runs
MAT
139/5
MUT
136/5
Majees Titans beat Muscat Thunderers by 5 wickets
ROS
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IAI
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YSG
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MUT
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RNC
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IAI
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ROS
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MAT
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AUS
193/10
SA
277/10
South Africa beat Australia by 84 runs
IPS
189/9
GCT
211/8
Gold Coast beat Ipswich by 22 runs
TMB
271/5
NSBB
193/8
Toombul beat Northern Suburbs by 78 runs
SSC
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SGR
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WYN
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RLS
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TMB
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VLLY
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SBB
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IPS
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WSS
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UOQ
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IPS
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TMB
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BIP
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WEF
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NOS
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OVI
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LOS
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SOB
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BIP-W
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WFW-W
150/3
NOS-W
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OIW-W
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LSW-W
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SBW-W
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MR-A
134/9
AS-A
135/4
Adelaide Strikers Academy beat Melbourne Renegades Academy by 6 wickets
NTS
135/10
PSA
139/3
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Northern Territory Strike by 7 wickets
PS
144/9
NEP
143/7
Pakistan Shaheens won by 1 run
CHK
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HHA
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ACOM
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MS-A
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BANA
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AS-A
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NOSK
114/6
KASS
110/10
Noida Super Kings beat Kanpur Superstars by 4 wickets
LUF
182/8
GOLS
183/3
Gorakhpur Lions beat Lucknow Falcons by 7 wickets
KARS
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MEMA
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GOLS
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KASS
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Thakuria has been working with some of India’s top cricketers, including Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. In an exclusive interaction with CricXtasy, Thakuria opened up on his nutrition strategies for India’s ace spinner Varun Chakravarthy, mentioning that cricketers with different skills need different kinds of diets.
“A major part of Varun’s life has gone into normal cricket, not even club cricket. At that level, you don’t think about which kind of diet I need to follow. Hence, his body was never trained for that. The 14-year-old Viabhav Suryavanshi is thinking about his fitness and diet, but did Chakravarthy even think about it when he was 14? Varun is not a born athlete but has recently become an athlete. His body hasn’t had that mobility since childhood, or he didn’t do that kind of training. Hence, you can’t keep him on a very strict diet. Because the day you start doing it, your body is not going to accept it.” Thakuria told Cricxtasy.
Chakravarthy, who hails from Tamil Nadu, was already having carb-rich food because of rice. Hence, Thakuria asked him to avoid a heavy carb meal at any point in the day or on match days. As a result, the Indian spinner started observing the changes.
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Varun Chakravarthy was fast-tracked into national colours following an exceptional IPL 2021. But he couldn’t have the same impact during the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE. As a result, Varun was dropped after managing just two wickets in his first six outings. He returned to the Indian setup after missing 86 T20Is on the back of the strong IPL 2024 season.
The leg-spinner played a crucial role in leading Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their third IPL title in 2024. He took 21 wickets in 14 innings, averaging just 19.14 and an impressive economy of 8.04. Following an exceptional season, the 33-year-old returned to India’s T20I setup after three years, first time since the WC 2021. In 12 T20Is since, Varun has taken 31 wickets at an average of 11.25 and a 7.58 RPO, including two fifers.
His outstanding T20I performances earned him an ODI call-up ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025. Though he managed just one wicket on debut against England, he shone in the ICC tournament. Varun picked up nine wickets in just three outings, which also included a five-wicket haul against New Zealand. In IPL 2025, the right-arm spinner took 17 wickets in 13 innings at an impressive economy rate of 7.66. He was recently named in India’s Asia Cup 2025 squad and is likely to lead the spin attack along with Kuldeep Yadav.
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