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Varun Chopra
England
Player profile
Full name Varun Chopra
Born June 21, 1987, Barking, Essex
Current age 21 years 112 days
Major teams England Under-19s, Essex, Essex 2nd XI
Nickname Tidz
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Height
6 ft 1 in
Education Ilford County HS
Batting and fielding averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
BF |
SR |
100 |
50 |
4s |
6s |
Ct |
St |
| First-class |
36 |
60 |
5 |
1715 |
155 |
31.18 |
3705 |
46.28 |
2 |
11 |
215 |
4 |
34 |
0 |
| List A |
20 |
19 |
0 |
488 |
102 |
25.68 |
673 |
72.51 |
1 |
3 |
55 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
| Twenty20 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
58 |
18 |
11.60 |
65 |
89.23 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Bowling averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
Balls |
Runs |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
4w |
5w |
10 |
| First-class |
36 |
4 |
40 |
39 |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
5.85 |
- |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| List A |
20 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| Twenty20 |
7 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Career statistics
| First-class debut |
Essex v Loughborough UCCE at Chelmsford, Apr 15-17, 2006 scorecard |
| Last First-class |
Gloucestershire v Essex at Bristol, Sep 24-27, 2008 scorecard |
| List A debut |
Essex v Sri Lankans at Chelmsford, Jun 9, 2006 scorecard |
| Last List A |
Essex v Surrey at Chelmsford, Aug 5, 2008 scorecard |
| Twenty20 debut |
Hampshire v Essex at Southampton, Jul 3, 2006 scorecard |
| Last Twenty20 |
Essex v Kent at Chelmsford, Jun 18, 2008 scorecard |
An opening batsman of considerable talent, Varun Chopra has already impressed as captain of England Under-19s, who he led to a comprehensive series whitewash of Sri Lanka in 2005. He was on fire himself, averaging 48 in the Tests and striking a half-century in one of the two ODIs. But life was about to get immediately tougher for him and his side - an 11-0 pasting followed on the winter tour of Bangladesh.
Chopra's own form with the bat was largely indifferent - although he did find form towards the end with 77 and 98 - and he lost the captaincy for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February. (This decision, though, was principally intended to give Moeen Ali a chance in the role, rather than being any slight on Chopra's abilities). And indeed, he was reinstated for the 2006 summer series against India.
With a resolute temperament and the talent to match, Chopra has been tipped for the top. He is already making strides to get there, after doing well for Essex's 2nd XI, including sharing an unbeaten stand of 280 with Zoheb Sharif of which he made 120 not out.
Graham Gooch is a fan, calling him "a smart lad who works hard at his game and has a natural eye for a ball." Gooch first encountered him at an Indian coaching camp. "He looked a good player then - upright and likes to play off the front and back foots straight through cover."
Chopra's domestic season started off well in 2006 - he struck a hundred and a fifty on Championship debut and has been slowly making his mark in the first team, even keeping Grant Flower out of the side. Watch him blossom.
Jenny Thompson June 2006
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