Success in IPL does not always open the doors of international cricket. The contenders are too many, the slots are limited.
However, for Varun Chakravarthy and Harshit Rana — among the key figures of IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders — the script could well be different.
Leg-spinner Chakravarthy, finished as the Knight Riders’ highest wicket-taker and second-highest overall with 21 scalps. Pacer Harshit, with 19 wickets, also performed well both during the Powerplay and in the death overs. It seems they have done enough to interest the national selectors.
Following the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States, Team India are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe for the July 6-14 five-match T20I series before travelling to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is. Assuming some of the first XI regulars will be rested after a gruelling T20 Cup campaign, Chakravarthy and Harshit stand a good chance of being considered by the selectors.
Chakravarthy, though, has already played 6 T20Is for India.
That said, how they had performed in the last domestic season for their respective state teams will also be looked into by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel.
“Obviously, the national selectors have been impressed by Varun and Harshit’s bowling in this year’s IPL. Given their performance, they could be considered for these two tours,” a BCCI official told The Telegraph on Monday. “But having said that, how they fared for their state teams will also be taken into account as performance in the IPL is not the only criterion.”
In the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, Chakravarthy took six wickets in four appearances for Tamil Nadu at an economy rate of 6.62, while Harshit had three scalps from four matches for Delhi. His economy rate was 8.23. Their numbers in the national one-dayers (Vijay Hazare Trophy) last season read better with Chakravarthy having 19 wickets from eight games (with 4.27 being his economy rate) and Harshit taking 10 scalps from five matches, going at 5.45 runs per over.
Chakravarthy, Harshit and even Vaibhav Arora (the other KKR quick) could be called up at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore next month for "fitness tests and preparations".
Arora, who dismissed Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Travis Head with a beauty in Sunday's final in Chennai, finished with 11 wickets from 10 matches, playing a good supporting role for Mitchell Starc and Harshit.
Rinku's belief
KKR middle-order batsman Rinku Singh, among Team India's reserves for next month's T20 showpiece, believes he will be lifting the World Cup as well. "I am headed to Noida first and then I will be going to the US. You guys watch, I will be lifting the World Cup also," Rinku told JioCinema.
About KKR's win, Rinku said: "You can't credit just one person because everyone has worked hard. Since GG (Gautam Gambhir) Sir came, a lot of things have changed."
