India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the T20I series against Afghanistan with a side strain. He suffered the injury while bowling in the first match. Ravi Bishnoi was named his replacement for the second T20I in Delhi.

India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is out of the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi after suffering discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday.

BCCI Confirms Side Strain

In a post on X, the BCCI said that Varun Chakaravarthy suffered a side strain in his left abdomen while bowling in the first T20I and has been ruled out of the series. “Varun Chakaravarthy experienced sudden-onset discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region while bowling his third over in the first T20I. Scans have revealed a side strain, and he has subsequently been ruled out of the remaining two T20Is.”

Ravi Bishnoi Named Replacement

During the toss of the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday, India captain Shreyas Iyer announced Ravi Bishnoi as Chakaravarthy’s replacement in the playing 11.

Fitness Race After Recent Comeback

The spinner is now racing against time to regain fitness ahead of India’s next international assignments — a one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games 2026.Chakaravarthy had only recently returned to India’s T20I squad in Sunday’s series opener following a two-month absence. After recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during the third T20I against England in July, he made an impressive comeback, finishing with figures of 1/16 from his four overs as India secured a seven-wicket victory.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)