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India spinner Varun Chakravarthy featured in the first T20I against Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday (Oct 6), returning with a match-winning spell of three for 31 in four overs.

Though Arshdeep Singh won the Player-of-the-Match award for picking as many wickets for fewer runs and Hardik Pandya garnered attention for his allround show, Varun silently played a handy role in helping India win the match by seven wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Having last played for the Men in Blue in 2021, Varun waited three years for his Team India comeback, and upon returning, he made an impact.

"After three long years and it was definitely emotional for me, and it feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth," Varun said after the game.

"There have been many challenges. Once you are not in the Indian side, people tend to write you off very easily.

You need to stay in the highest level again and again, you need to keep knocking on the door.

Thankfully, this time it happened, and hopefully I can keep continuing my good work," he continued.

Golden run

2024 has been a lucky year for Varun.

First, he won his maiden IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), picking up 21 wickets in 14 matches the most for the franchise and second highest for the season, and then won the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) title with Dindigul Dragons, returning with 12 wickets in the tournament.

"After IPL, I played a few tournaments, and one of those was the TNPL.

It's a very good tournament and high standard [of cricket] also," Varun said.

"That's a place where I worked a lot, with Ash bhai [Ashwin].

We won the competition also, and that gave me the confidence here because it was good preparation for me for this series.

"I just want to stick to the process because that's what I have been following in the IPL also.

So I don't want to go over and beyond what's there right now.

I just want to stay in the present. That's why I don't want to think too much or express too much."

Meanwhile, during the first T20I, Varun picked Towhid Hridoy on 12 before removing Jaker Ali and Rishad Hossain later in the innings.

Delhi will host the second T20I on Wednesday (Oct 9).