KKR Mystery Spinner Makes ODI Debut, Achieves THIS 'Late Bloomer' Record

IND Vs ENG, 2nd ODI: KKR spinner makes much awaited ODI debut 4 years after his international debut, and in the process, becomes one of the oldest ODI debutants. Read below for details.

Varun Chakravarthy is now India's 2nd oldest ODI debutant

Source : @X/BCCI

IND Vs ENG, 2nd ODI: Kolkata Knight Riders' mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy creates history by becoming the 2nd oldest Indian to make ODI debut. The right-arm off-spinner achieves the feat vs England in the 2nd ODI at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

Farokh Engineer still remains India's oldest ODI debutant at 36 years and 138 days, which he achieved against England at Leeds, on July 13, 1974.

Varun Chakravarthy's debut comes at the age of 33 years and 164 days, and it will be interesting to see what the KKR skipper brings to the table at Cuttack.

READ HERE: Virat Kohli Is Back! Indian Veteran Makes ODI Return After 6 Months — Details Inside

Debut 🧢 ✅

Varun Chakaravarthy will make his first appearance for #TeamIndia in an ODI ✨

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/NReW1eEQtF#INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank | @chakaravarthy29 pic.twitter.com/TRah0L7gh9

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 9, 2025

Playing XI's

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

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

Team Changes

India (2 Changes) - Virat Kohli & Varun Chakaravarthy IN. Yashasvi Jaiswal & Kuldeep Yadav OUT.

England (3 Changes) - Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson & Mark Wood IN. Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse & Jofra Archer OUT.

Former KKR Skipper Opens Up On His Short-Ball Struggles 

2024 IPL winning captain Shreyas lyer has opened up on his short-ball struggles and playing XI status during an on-field interview just before the commencement of 2nd ODI, as the Indian batter stated that he 'has a great record from past few years' and that he plays 'every ball on merit'.

"To be honest I don't think about that particularly but my records have been great in the past few years. It feels great to play for India. I have been playing this format since childhood and this is what we have started with. Obviously it was red ball cricket and now it is this one. I have tried to increase my skillset and be consistent in my performance," said Shreyas Iyer.

"(On the short ball plan in the 1st ODI) To be honest, when I faced the first 2 balls, it wasn't that interesting. They just had 2 slips. Obviously that gave me a lot of confidence to come in and thrive from the beginning. I was not trying to do anything extra. I was just playing every ball on the merit," said the Indian batter.

"(What was Shreyas lyer doing last night?) Last night I was not watching any movie. I just went to bed early. I was just chit chatting with my friends at home. Yeah that's it," he added.