"Toughest thing about contracting Covid-19 is keeping your mind distracted" - Varun Chakravarthy

Varun Chakravarthy recently opened up on his fight with COVID-19. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner contracted the virus during IPL 2021. The bowler said keeping the mind distracted was the toughest thing to do while recovering from the virus.

The 29-year-old was one of the first players to contract the virus during the competition that led to a domino effect and the tournament being postponed indefinitely.

Varun Chakravarthy has now recovered from COVID-19 but is yet to resume training at full tilt.

"The toughest thing about contracting Covid-19 is keeping your mind distracted, and away from all that was happening. Because you are alone, away from your family and teammates. I still haven't been able to resume training full tilt because of post-Covid-19 symptoms. Although I don't have cough or fever, there is weakness and dizziness. The loss of smell and taste is still intermittent, but I'm confident of being able to resume training soon," ESPNcricinfo quoted Chakravarthy as saying.

I feel a bit for Varun Chakravarty. He's an amateur really, hasn't had the kind of career most players do; through age group cricket with physios and trainers. From lower div to TNPL to KKR to India has been an unusual passage. Now at 29, it is tough to hit the fitness standards

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 11, 2021

Kolkata Knight Riders struggled to get going before the tournament was called off. The two-time title winners were on the 7th spot with two wins out of seven games, and it would have taken a miraculous turnaround for them to make it to the playoffs.

"Shahrukh Khan spoke to all the players individually and motivated us" - Varun Chakravarthy's

Disappointing performance. to say the least @KKRiders apologies to all the fans!

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 13, 2021

Following his bout with COVID-19, Varun Chakravarthy praised the KKR management and owner Shahrukh Khan for going the extra mile to take care of the players.

"The KKR franchise was very supportive. They went to the extent of even having someone from the team management stay back with me, even after the IPL was postponed and left only after I returned two negative tests and got back home. Shah Rukh Khan (Knight Riders' co-owner) spoke to all the players individually and motivated us," Chakravarthy added.

While KKR might have struggled as a unit, Varun Chakravarthy had a decent outing with the ball. The spinner took seven wickets in seven games in IPL 2021 while bowling at an economy of 7.8.

The bowler was also close to being picked for the Indian national team in the shortest format on two occasions. He was initially picked for the T20Is against Australia last year but missed out due to a shoulder injury.

Chakravarthy was picked again this year for the T20I series against England, but the spinner was unable to pass the fitness criteria set by the Indian team.

When the squad finds out @chakaravarthy29 is picked in the 🇮🇳 #TeamIndia squad for England T20Is 🕺🏼Virat (C), Rohit (vc), Rahul, Shikhar, Shreyas, Suryakumar, Hardik, Pant, Ishan, Chahal, Varun, Axar, Sundar, Tewatia, Natarajan, Bhuvi, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep, Shardul#KKR pic.twitter.com/XVS3puhxKl

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) February 20, 2021