Against England at Rajkot, Varun Chakravarthy claimed 5-24 to go past Kuldeep Yadav’s Indian record of most wickets in a 10-T20I stretch in men’s cricket.
Selected for the Indian T20I side in 2021, Varun Chakravarthy was left out in the cold after six games, three of which came in that year’s T20 World Cup. While his career record stood at two wickets at 66 apiece, he had gone for 5.86 an over.
A sparkling comeback
An excellent IPL, however, helped Varun earn a comeback to the national side in October 2024. Since then, his 10 T20Is (and 40 overs) have fetched him 27 wickets at 10.96 – all the while maintaining an economy of 7.40. His career numbers after 16 games – 29 wickets at 14.75, economy 6.84 – make impressive reading.
Also read: Most runs between dismissals in men's T20Is, full list: Tilak Varma breaks world record
During this period, he has also had two five-wicket hauls – 5-17 against South Africa at Gqeberha and 5-24 against England at Rajkot. Among Indians, only Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have as many five-fors in the format. In the latter, the ongoing match, Varun’s spell reduced England from 83-1 to 127-8 before they recovered to 171-9.
What's the world record for most wickets in a 10-T20I stretch?
Varun’s 27 wickets are also the joint third-most for any bowler in a 10-match T20I stretch.
This is now an Indian record, after Kuldeep’s 25, and the third-most in the world, after Rashid Khan’s 30 and the Malaysian Syzarul Idrus’s 28.
A second T20I five-for in six matches for Varun Chakravarthy, sparking a dramatic England collapse in Rajkot.#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/BQqiYTPytk
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) January 28, 2025
Bowlers with 25-plus wickets in 10-T20I stretches in men’s cricket
| Wickets | Bowler | Team |
| 30 | Rashid Khan | Afghanistan |
| 28 | Syazrul Idrus | Malaysia |
| 27 | Varun Chakravarthy | India |
| 26 | Dinesh Nakrani | Uganda |
| 26 | Dhruv Maisuria | Botswana |
| 25 | Kuldeep Yadav | India |
| 25 | Zaker Taqawi | Sweden |
