• Sportzyverse
• Cricket news
• 06/24/2024
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Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) star spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has publicly expressed his discontent after being overlooked for India’s squad for the Zimbabwe tour. On Monday, June 24, Varun posted two cryptic Instagram stories criticizing the selection committee following his impressive performance in the IPL 2024.

Varun Chakaravarthy Instagram story!!! pic.twitter.com/BmypFeQ3Fm

— Rokte Amar KKR 🟣🟡 (@Rokte_Amarr_KKR) June 24, 2024

Stellar IPL Performance Overlooked

Varun Chakaravarthy had a standout season in IPL 2024, taking 21 wickets in just 14 innings and emerging as one of the best spinners in the tournament. Despite his stellar performance, he was not selected for the T20 World Cup 2024 team. Instead, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee chose only two designated spinners, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi, for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, once again bypassing Varun.

The 32-year-old leg-spinner, who last played two T20Is for India in 2021, has been a consistent performer in the IPL for the past few seasons. In his first Instagram story, Varun indirectly criticized the selection process, mentioning the lack of a ‘paid PR agency,’ hinting that players are being selected based on popularity rather than performance.

•Most Wickets by a Spinner in IPL 2024-21
•Most Wickets by a Spinner in Last 2 IPL Combine- 41
•Top Wicket Taker for an IPL Franchise for last 4 Season- KKR

Still no place for Varun Chakaravarthy in Indian Team!!💔🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/toqqQ5BIu3

— कट्टर KKR समर्थक 🦁🇮🇳 ™ (@KKRWeRule) June 24, 2024

Notably, no KKR player made the squad for the Zimbabwe tour despite the team’s dominant performance in IPL 2024. High-profile KKR players such as captain Shreyas Iyer, emerging pacer Harshit Rana, and top performer Venkatesh Iyer were all left out of the India squad.

New Faces in the Squad

The selection committee introduced four new faces to the national team: Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Nitish Reddy, and Tushar Deshpande, who all received their maiden call-ups. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel was also selected for the T20Is for the first time. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson from the T20 World Cup squad retained their places for the Zimbabwe tour. Shubman Gill has been chosen to lead the team for the five-match series starting on July 6 in Harare.

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Varun Chakaravarthy’s social media outburst highlights the ongoing debate over selection criteria and the importance of performance versus popularity. As the team prepares for the Zimbabwe tour, the snubbed players and their supporters continue to voice their concerns, hoping for a more transparent and performance-based selection process in the future.