Varun Chakravarthy was one of two players to have returned a positive test during IPL 2021.© AFP
India spinner Varun Chakravarthy has opened up on a disturbing tale from his career, recalling the social media abuse he received after testing positive for COVID-19 during the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021. Chakravarthy was one of two players to have returned a positive test ahead of their match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), which was initially postponed. The BCCI had to suspend the tournament due to the surge in cases within the team bubbles, just 29 games into the season.
Apart from Chakravarthy, pacer Sandeep Warrier had also returned a positive test in the KKR camp. Recalling the shocking tale, Chakravarthy revealed that he was targeted with social media trolling, including death threats, after he tested positive for COVID-19.
“The worst was when IPL was stopped in 2021. It got stopped halfway because I got Covid. I was the first person to test positive. So the whole IPL had stopped,” Chakravarthy said on YouTube show Journey to Jersey.
Media reports back then claimed that Chakravarthy had left the team bubble through official channels to undergo shoulder treatment, where he was most likely exposed to the virus.
“There were people abusing me. Back then, IPL was the only way people were passing time. They were so angry that it was stopped. People were saying, ‘Why don’t you just die.’ It was that bad,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chakravarthy was the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the IPL last year with 17 scalps at an average of 22.52 and an economy rate of 7.66, with best figures of 3/22. In 83 matches for KKR, Varun has taken 99 wickets at an average of 23.74, with two four-wicket hauls and best figures of 5/20.
During the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, he was also the joint-highest wicket-taker in the mega event alongside Jasprit Bumrah with 14 wickets, but gave away 9.25 runs an over for his scalps.