India’s Champions Trophy 2025 Star Made His Film Debut Long Before Representing the National Team

Varun Chakravarthy had a brilliant campaign in the Champions Trophy 2025, as the Indian cricketer and spinner emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. He impressed everyone with his disciplined bowling, taking 9 wickets in just 3 matches. This was a perfect showcase of his talent, which he had earlier displayed in the domestic circuit and as part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Interestingly, even before making his T20I debut for India in 2021, Varun had a cameo role in the 2014 Tamil movie ‘Jeeva’, starring Vishnu Vishal. At the time, Varun was a budding cricketer, and it took him a while to achieve his dream of playing international cricket.

Varun took up cricket as a serious profession at the age of 26, starting with tennis ball competitions. He gradually moved up to the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) before securing his contract with KKR.

Former Indian cricket team bowling coach Bharat Arun recalled how nervous Varun was during his India debut. He also shared an anecdote about Varun’s ‘overawed’ interaction with then-captain Virat Kohli.

“He definitely looked a bit overawed. He was scared of even telling Virat Kohli what field setting he wanted. He ended up bowling to the field given to him,” Arun, who also works with Varun at Kolkata Knight Riders, told The Indian Express.

However, much has changed since then, and Varun’s performances in the Champions Trophy have made him a household name.

“Look at him now. He is a totally different cricketer. We say cricket at the elite level is 90% mental, and Varun stands true for it. He now knows what to do when given the ball. He is setting his own field because he believes in himself more,” Arun added.