Varun Chakravarthy ruled out of Asian Games

Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the 2026 Asian Games after sustaining a side strain during the first T20I against Afghanistan in New Delhi. The 35-year-old felt discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region while bowling his third over and scans confirmed the injury.

Uncapped leg-spinning all-rounder Vipraj Nigam has been added to the squad as his replacement. Chakravarthy still completed his four-over spell and finished with figures of one for 16 before being withdrawn from the remaining matches. Ravi Bishnoi came into the playing XI for the second T20I.

India begin their Asian Games campaign on September 28 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, after playing a one-off T20I against Japan on September 22.