From Ahmedabad to Chennai: The Making of a Mystery-Spin Duo

Mystery spin is a novelty that seldom goes unnoticed. So it was perhaps inevitable that the Tamil Nadu Premier League — the very competition that introduced the world to Varun Chakaravarthy — would also become the stage for Rohan Bhutra's wrong-footed wrist-spin, complete with multiple variations. Rohan made his TNPL debut for Madurai Panthers with a Player of the Match performance of 2 for 9 against Salem Spartans, and followed it with another Player of the Match award for his 2 for 23 against Dindigul Dragons, the very franchise that handed him his first TNPL contract three years ago.

But Rohan is only half the story. It also involves his identical twin, Rahul, who shares more than just his brother's facial hair and physique — their bowling actions are a replica of each other's. While Rahul is yet to land his maiden TNPL gig, the journey of these 24-year-old twins is deeply intertwined.

Roots in Rajasthan, Born in Chennai, Raised in Ahmedabad

The Bhutras' connection to Chennai runs deeper than cricket. Their maternal grandparents hail from Rajasthan but ran their business in Chennai before the twins were born there. Soon after, the family migrated to Ahmedabad, where their father ran a readymade garment business. The Bhutras had a thing for cricket, with their father keen to see his sons make it big in the sport.

The brothers took contrasting paths before stumbling upon mystery spin. Rohan was an orthodox off-spinner before videos of Varun Chakaravarthy bamboozling batters in the TNPL prompted him to deviate from the norm. Batting was Rahul's primary suit, but he chanced upon something in his bowling that flummoxed batters at club level. Today, he considers himself a bowling all-rounder.

"It was never planned," Rahul told Cricbuzz of the similarity in their bowling actions. "It just came naturally to us."

A Crossroads and a Bold Move

Rahul and Rohan graduated through the age-group pathways in Ahmedabad, but upon missing a district call-up in 2019 — just before the COVID-19 pandemic — they found themselves at a crossroads. The path that beckoned took them back to their place of birth, as they were eligible to play Chennai's divisional cricket tournament without serving a cooling-off period.

The move was backed wholeheartedly by their family. Their father didn't bat an eyelid before selling his shop in Ahmedabad and relocating with his sons to Chennai to fuel their cricketing ambitions.

"When we first came to Chennai, we were a little shocked to see the cricket culture here," Rahul recalled. "It felt very good that people take even local matches seriously. Even from second to sixth division, there are a lot of coaches who are so interested in buying a team and playing them in club cricket. The coaches and support staff respect the players. They treat players like their best friends and take good care of them."

A Godfather in Vignesh Krishnaraj

As the archetypal Gen-Z go-getters, the twins sought out Srinath Suresh, a coach at Cricket Drome, a popular academy in the southern locality of Thoraipakkam. Srinath took them on board, and soon the brothers were integrated into the city's famed divisional cricket culture.

With financial support a necessity as they pursued a Commerce degree in sports management in Ahmedabad, the brothers found a godfather in Vignesh Krishnaraj, another coach at Cricket Drome. It didn't take long for Vignesh to be convinced of their talent.

"I told Rohan a few years back: 'You are definitely an IPL product and will play the IPL. And I will help you however I can to get you there,'" Vignesh told Cricbuzz. He took the brothers under his wing, convincing their father that he would "look after the boys like my brothers."

"They needed money to stay here. I arranged match fees for them. It wasn't enough for them but that's all I could afford," Vignesh added.

The Varun Chakaravarthy Connection and the IPL Door Opens

As they toiled away in the third and fourth divisions in Chennai, TNPL scouts noticed the many variations they possessed. Rahul claims to have four variations and Rohan a few more, marrying overspin and topspin to thrive on flat decks.

Rohan was signed by the Ravichandran Ashwin-led Dindigul Dragons in 2023, while Rahul served as a net bowler ready to be summoned should a replacement be needed. Rohan didn't feature in a team that already had Varun Chakaravarthy, but rubbing shoulders with the bowler he idolised proved to be an inflection point.

"I got his number and I started contacting him," Rohan recalled. "He started giving me drills, he told me what I could work on. I asked him to let me know if there was any opportunity as a net bowler."

That opportunity came when Kolkata Knight Riders arrived in Chennai for their IPL 2024 fixture against the Super Kings. "I got a message from Varun that Angkrish Raghuvanshi was going to bat at Amir Mahal Cricket Ground and if I could, I should go and bowl to him. The session went really well — I troubled him and I got him out twice or thrice too," Rohan said.

Word spread quickly within the KKR camp. AC Parthiban, Varun's personal coach, was impressed, and a video of Rohan's exploits against Raghuvanshi reached Abhishek Nayar, then the assistant coach of the franchise. Rohan was soon roped in as a net bowler for the rest of KKR's title-winning campaign.

From KKR to Gujarat Titans and Beyond

The momentum didn't stop there. During their off-season in Ahmedabad ahead of IPL 2025, the Bhutras were asked to bowl to Shubman Gill, who turned up for a net session. Having impressed the Gujarat Titans captain, they were onboarded as net bowlers for the season.

Their meteoric rise continued when Vignesh picked them for Rising Stars, the third division club he coached, for the 2025-26 season. Rohan had skipped the previous season to work on his bowling in Ahmedabad, while Rahul had limited game time. But such was their impact that by season's end, Rising Stars had been promoted to the second division, with Rohan and Rahul taking 30 and 25 wickets respectively.

"There were times when one took five wickets, the other took four, and these two finished the match all by themselves," Vignesh said.

The Art of Twin Deception

The impact of the duo bowling in tandem lies in subtle differences that are hard for batters to pick when facing them for the first time.

"Rahul doesn't get a lot of turn. His arm-speed is quick. He attacks the stumps a lot and gets a lot of bowleds and LBWs," Vignesh detailed. "The speeds he bowls, batters find it tough to play him off the surface. That's a big plus for him." Rohan, by contrast, extracts more turn to pose different questions of the batters.

The twins naturally slip into what Vignesh describes as a "Fred and George Weasley prankster mode" — deceiving teammates with their identity during pre-match warm-ups. But the deception extends into matches with tangible results.

"While switching the brothers' ends, a batter got out to Rahul thinking it was Rohan. He played for the turn and got bowled. While watching by the boundary ropes, I overheard the opponent saying that they got confused since both look alike. So we used this ploy a lot while rotating their ends and fooled opposition teams," Vignesh revealed with a laugh. "After so many years even I get confused as to who is who."

Together, Not Apart

Any uncertainty in their father's mind has long since been put to rest. Rohan has begun with consecutive Player of the Match awards for the Panthers, who sit atop the points table. Rahul awaits his opportunity in the league, watching nervously every time his brother takes the ball.

After all, they remain each other's closest confidantes. "We discuss cricket 24 hours a day," Rohan said. "Whatever doubts I have with my bowling or batting, I go to him and likewise, he comes to me. The biggest strength we have is that we have someone to discuss the game with. It becomes really easy and really motivates us a lot — if one brother is doing well, the other can also do well."

It has never been a race between the Bhutra twins. Having lived this journey together, the road ahead is one they are eager to take side by side.