Varun Chakaravarthy ruled out of Japan T20I, Asian Games with side strain; Vipraj Nigam gets maiden international call-up

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 16 (ANI): India mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has been ruled out of the one-off T20I against Japan and the Asian Games after suffering a side strain, with leg-spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam receiving his maiden international call-up as his replacement.
Chakaravarthy picked up the injury during India's opening T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi, his first international appearance after returning from a hamstring issue, according to Cricinfo.
The spinner was initially ruled out of the remainder of the Afghanistan series but was expected to recover in time to travel for the Asian Games. However, the side strain has now ruled him out of both upcoming assignments.
BCCI's Men's Selection Committee has named Nigam as Chakaravarthy's replacement in the Japan T20I and Asian Games squad.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was originally part of India's Asian Games squad, has also been withdrawn and will instead be available for the three-match ODI series against the West Indies.
Nigam first attracted attention during IPL 2025, when he claimed 11 wickets in 14 matches for Delhi Capitals at an economy rate of 9.12. He also contributed 142 runs at a strike rate of 179.74.
The 21-year-old had a quieter IPL 2026 campaign, scoring 15 runs and taking two wickets in five matches, but impressed for India A during the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka in June.
Nigam finished as India's joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with seven wickets from five matches and also scored 116 runs at a strike rate of 126.08.
With Chakaravarthy unavailable, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are likely to be India's first-choice spin options, with Washington Sundar and Nigam providing further alternatives.
India will travel with a 14-member squad for the Japan T20I and the Asian Games. The replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy has not yet been announced.
India's updated squad: Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur, Vipraj Nigam. (ANI)