Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of India’s Asian Games campaign with a side strain, with young leg-spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam named as his replacement. Nigam has played 19 IPL matches and will join India’s squad in Japan
Published Date – 16 September 2026, 04:12 PM
New Delhi: Young leg-spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam will replace Varun Chakravarthy in India’s Asian Games squad after the senior spinner was ruled out of the continental event with a side strain.
The Asian Games will begin on September 19 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
“Varun is out for an indefinite period of time. Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav were the two available options from the long list. Kuldeep will play the West Indies ODIs later this month,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Chakravarthy, who was forced out of the ongoing T20I series against Afghanistan after suffering the injury in the opening game, is expected to remain sidelined for some time.
The 22-year-old Nigam, who represents Delhi Capitals in the IPL, has so far played 19 matches in the league, taking 13 wickets.
The 21-year-old has also shown his big-hitting ability, scoring at a strike rate of around 176 in his IPL career.
The men’s cricket competition at the Asian Games will begin on September 24. India will open in the quarterfinal stage.
Chakravarthy’s withdrawal is a setback for India as the 35-year-old had returned to the national side after recovering from a hamstring injury before the Afghanistan series.
He reported discomfort following the first T20I and was sent back to the BCCI Centre of Excellence for further assessment.
