On the world arena, Indian cricketer Varun Chakaravarthy has had a difficult time so far. He was named a surprise selection for the 2021 T20 World Cup, ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal, after wowing the selectors with his mystery bowling in the IPL. However, he was unable to confirm the choice. Following India's devastating elimination from the group stage, an injury worry kept him out of action and ultimately out of the running. Four years later, he reappeared, this time in the IPL and the domestic league, and this time, he made amends for the faith the BCCI selectors had placed in him, as Varun was instrumental in helping India win the Champions Trophy in Dubai earlier this year.

However, becoming a cricket player was not simple for Varun, either. The 33-year-old admitted on his YouTube program, "Kutti stories with Ash," where he opened out to the renowned Ravichandran Ashwin, that he explored a variety of career options, including directing short films and playing the guitar in the church choir, before discovering his love for cricket.

Right after graduation, the Kolkata Knight Riders player worked as an architect, but he quit the position a year later to "rekindle my love for music" before it was too late. After cyclone Vardha wiped out his entire savings, he went back to architecture and started his own business this time.

I spent a year and a half working as an assistant architect at an architectural firm after finishing school. When I left, my monthly income was roughly 18,000, but it had started at about 14,000. I started playing guitar for a little bit after quitting that work because I wanted to reignite my passion for music. However, I quickly came to the conclusion that the passion must originate from within if you want to follow a particular art. It's never going to work if your goal is to win people over or gain their attention. I could never play the guitar for more than an hour. Only after six to eight months did I come to this conclusion, at which point I made the decision to quit. I made the decision to launch my own business specializing in interior design and construction after that. I lost my entire investment when Cyclone Vardha struck after a successful year. And that was it. He stated that he was between the ages of 24 and 25 at the time.

After often accompanying his pals to movie sets, Varun decided to try out his enthusiasm as an Assistant Director. In one film, he was paid INR 600 per day for working as a junior artist.

“I began going to shoots with my friends in the film business to see what was going on and watching a lot of movies.” I began chatting with the men, and I discovered that they are filming Jeeva at a number of cricket fields. I went there hoping to be an Assistant Director, but it didn't happen. I was unable to deliver a compelling argument. After that, one of the ADs inquired about my cricket playing experience. "Tennis-ball cricket only," I stated. After that, I was given the opportunity to play in this film, for which I received a daily wage of INR 600 as a junior artist. And at that moment, that was really helpful, he said.

The India star astonished Ashwin by disclosing a 42x wage differential when he inquired about his current daily allowance as a cricketer. "I get 300 USD (INR 25652.78)," he stated, leaving Ashwin speechless.

Varun also disclosed that his passion for movies even drove him to helm a few short films, which, however, are now not accessible for streaming on YouTube, while playing tennis-ball cricket on weekends. "I loved the whole process of the shoot, which lasted for 20 days. I then began writing scripts and stories, but after pitching a few of them, I discovered that I was getting the emotions correct but that I couldn't convey them as a screenplay. I made a few short movies.

The right-arm spinner, who took nine wickets during the Champions Trophy season, is anticipated to be back in action when India's white-ball games start later in the summer with the trip of Bangladesh in August.

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