Vipraj Nigam replaces Varun Chakravarthy in India's Asian Games squad
What's the story
Indian cricketer Varun Chakravarthy has been ruled out of the upcoming one-off T20I against Japan and the 2026 Asian Games. The decision comes after Chakravarthy suffered a side strain in the first T20I against Afghanistan in Delhi. Leg-spin all-rounder Vipraj Nigam has been named as his replacement for both events. This will be Nigam's first international call-up, having gained prominence during IPL 2025 with Delhi Capitals.
Rising star
Who is Vipraj Nigam?
Nigam, who made a mark in IPL 2025 with 11 wickets and 142 runs in 14 games, had a disappointing IPL 2026 season.
However, he impressed during the India A one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka in June.
There, he was India's joint-highest wicket-taker with seven wickets from five matches and scored an impressive 116 runs at a strike rate of over 126, as per Cricinfo.
Nigam owns 34 wickets in the 20-over format at 24.88. In List A cricket, he has 26 scalps at 35.80.
Squad changes
Chakravarthy's injury rules him out of 2 major events
Chakravarthy's injury came in his first game after recovering from a hamstring issue.
He was initially ruled out of the Afghanistan series but was expected to travel for the Asian Games. However, that is no longer the case.
In his absence, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are likely to be India's first-choice spinners, with Washington Sundar and Nigam as backups.
Team composition
A look at the updated Indian squad
The updated Indian squad for the Japan T20I and Asian Games features Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam.
The men's cricket competition at the Asian Games will begin on September 24 with India entering at the quarter-final stage.