Varun Chakravarthy created history during the second ODI against England at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, becoming India’s second-oldest ODI debutant at the age of 33 years and 164 days. He was handed his debut cap by Ravindra Jadeja, marking a significant moment for the mystery spinner. Farokh Engineer, who debuted at 36 years and 138 days in 1974, remains the oldest.
Chakravarthy boasts an impressive List A record, holding the best bowling average among players with 50 or more wickets at 14.13. His ability to bamboozle batters, as seen in T20Is, is expected to pose a similar challenge to England.
Oldest ODI debutants for India:
- 36y 138d – Farokh Engineer vs England, Leeds, 1974
- 33y 164d – Varun Chakravarthy vs England, Cuttack, 2025
- 33y 103d – Ajit Wadekar vs England, Leeds, 1974
- 32y 350d – Dilip Doshi vs Australia, Melbourne, 1980
- 32y 307d – Syed Abid Ali vs England, Leeds, 1974
Match details:
England won the toss and opted to bat first. Jos Buttler cited the dry, black-soil wicket as an advantage, with England making three changes to their lineup. On the other hand, India introduced two key changes, with Virat Kohli replacing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Varun Chakravarthy coming in for Kuldeep Yadav.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy
England Playing XI: Philip Salt (w), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood
Chakravarthy’s debut will be closely monitored, with the mystery spinner expected to make an impact on a pitch that could favor slower deliveries.
