He may be a qualified architect, but Varun Chakravarthy could not have planned his extraordinary career graph, which resembles a high-rise at the moment, even in his dreams.

With just one first-class appearance so far since he started playing competitive cricket, “mystery spinner” Varun has managed to earn an India call-up. On Monday, he was named in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming tour of Australia.

Varun has turned out to be the best spinner for Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing IPL, taking 13 wickets. It is to be remembered that the Knight Riders squad includes Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav.

Tamil Nadu coach Divakar Vasu credits the situational awareness of the 29-year-old spinner for his impressive performance. “First of all, Varun did very well to recover from the injury he suffered last year. As for his plus points, they are his line and length, remaining steady and the ability to bowl the wrong one very well.

“He is a different bowler, somewhat flattish kind. He doesn’t give room to play too many strokes and he is a thinking cricketer. But more importantly, it’s the situational awareness of today’s players in T20 cricket that has improved a lot. They are planning well ahead, they know what needs to be done,” Vasu told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

Varun’s career as a cricketer has been quite eventful. From rejection in age-group cricket as a wicketkeeper-batsman, to resurfacing as a seam-bowling all-rounder, to taking up leg spin after a career-threatening knee injury, Varun has seen it all.

Last year he could play just one game for KXIP, who bought him for Rs 8.4 crore, before an injury knocked him out of IPL. But he has bounced back in style this year.

Chakravarthy’s educational background helps him think better, thinks Vasu.

“It definitely makes a difference. Educational background is important as today’s cricketers need to think well before taking a decision,” Vasu pointed out.