While the mystery spinner has gone on to cement a spot for himself in India’s T20 World Cup and ODI teams, cricket wasn’t always seen as a ‘career’ by him. Varun, in a chat with former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, revealed that he initially worked in an architectural company, acted in a movie, and even directed a few short films.

“Right after I completed college, I was working in an architectural company for one and a half years as an assistant architect. I started with around 14k a month, and it was 18k around the time I left. After I left that job, for a brief stint, I took up guitar as I wanted to rekindle my love for music. But soon I realised that if you want to pursue some art, the love has to come from within. If your goal is to please others or get attention from others, it is never going to work out. I was never able to practice guitar for more than an hour. I realised it only after 6-8 months, and then I decided to stop. Then I decided to start my own firm in interior design and construction. It went well for a year until Cyclone Vardha happened, and I lost all my investment. So that ended as well. I was around 24-25 then,” he said in a candid interview.