Varun Chakravarthy is among those Indian cricketers who first pursued engineering and then their cricket dream. The architect-turned-cricketer grabbed attention with his mystery spin.
Chakravarthy bowls leg spin, but his disguised variations catch batters off guard. And he has done this for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL.
The Tamil Nadu spinner first impressed KKR’s management as a net bowler in 2018 before becoming their bowling mainstay since 2020.
Here you can check out Varun Chakravarthy’s IPL career stats, records, and salary in every season.
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Varun Chakravarthy IPL Debut
Varun Chakravarthy played his debut match on March 27, 2019. He represented Kings XI Punjab against KKR, a team he would go on to play for in the future.
Chakravarthy had a disastrous start, as Sunil Narine smashed 24 runs in his first-ever IPL over. He did take a wicket later, but not before conceding 35 runs in his three overs.
It was the only match he played for Punjab that season before they released him ahead of the 2020 edition.
| Match | KKR vs PBKS, 6th Match, Indian Premier League 2019 |
| Date | Wednesday, March 27, 2019 |
| Time | 20:00 |
| Venue | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
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Varun Chakravarthy Performance in IPL 2024
Varun Chakravarthy had a remarkable outing in IPL 2024. He bamboozled batters with his mystery spin to end up as the second-highest wicket-taker last season.
The leg spinner picked up 21 wickets in 15 matches, the most for KKR. His impressive bowling effort was instrumental in KKR’s title win in 2024.
Varun Chakravarthy Last IPL Match
Varun Chakravarthy’s last IPL appearance came on May 26, 2024. He played for KKR against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2024 final.
Chakravarthy was good with the ball in the important clash, taking a wicket in two overs while giving away just nine runs. He helped KKR restrict SRH to 113, which they later chased with ease to lift the trophy.
| Match | SRH vs KKR, Final, Indian Premier League 2024 |
| Date | Sunday, May 26, 2024 |
| Time | 19:30 |
| Venue | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai |
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Varun Chakravarthy IPL Auction and History Match
After his promising performance in the TNPL, Varun Chakravarthy came on the radar of a few IPL teams. In 2019, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) splurged INR 8.4 crore on the mystery spinner.
But after only one appearance for them, Punjab released him after the 2019 season. Then in 2020, Chakravarthy found his home in Kolkata Knight Riders.
The franchise bought him in the auction for INR 4 crore, and since then he has been with them. Ahead of the 2022 season, Chakravarthy’s salary doubled to INR 8 crore.
After impressive outings in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the leg spinner’s salary shot to INR 12 crore for IPL 2025.
| Year | Price | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 8.40 Cr | Punjab |
| 2020 | 4.00 Cr | Kolkata |
| 2021 | 4.00 Cr | Kolkata |
| 2022 | 8.00 Cr | Kolkata |
| 2023 | 8.00 Cr | Kolkata |
| 2024 | 8.00 Cr | Kolkata |
| 2025 | 12.00 Cr | Kolkata (Retained) |
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Varun Chakravarthy Bowling Stats in IPL
| Year | M | B | R | W | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4W | 5W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 71 | 1588 | 2002 | 83 | 5/20 | 24.12 | 7.56 | 19.13 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | 15 | 300 | 402 | 21 | 3/16 | 19.14 | 8.04 | 14.29 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 | 316 | 429 | 20 | 4/15 | 21.45 | 8.15 | 15.8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 234 | 332 | 6 | 1/22 | 55.33 | 8.51 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 17 | 408 | 448 | 18 | 3/13 | 24.88 | 6.58 | 22.66 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 13 | 312 | 356 | 17 | 5/20 | 20.94 | 6.84 | 18.35 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 1 | 18 | 35 | 1 | 1/35 | 35 | 11.66 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
Want to know which team Varun Chakravarthy will play for in IPL 2025?
Varun Chakravarthy has done quite well in five seasons with KKR. Over these years, he has emerged as their frontline spinner, complementing well with Sunil Narine.
And the franchise wants the mystery spinner to bring more success in the upcoming seasons. So, KKR has retained the services of Chakravarthy for IPL 2025 and he will don the gold and purple one more time.
