In October 2020, Varun was named in India's
Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their
away series against
Australia. However, on 9 November 2020, he was ruled out of the series after suffering an injury. In February 2021, he was named in India's T20I squad for their
home series against
England, but did not make it to the playing XI. In June 2021, Varun was named in India's
One Day International (ODI) and T20I squads for their
away series against
Sri Lanka. He made his T20I debut on 25 July 2021 in the first match of the series, and took the wicket of the Sri Lankan captain
Dasun Shanaka. In September 2021, he was named in the Indian squad for the
2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. However, he went wicket-less in his three appearances in the tournament. In October 2024, Varun made his international comeback after nearly three years in the first match of the
T20I series against
Bangladesh, and took three wickets. He took his maiden T20I five-wicket haul when he finished with figures of 5/17 in the second match of the
away series against
South Africa on 10 November 2024. He finished as the highest wicket taker of the series with 12 dismissals in four matches. In early 2025, he won the Player of the series award in the five-match
T20I series against England, after taking 14 wickets including his second five-wicket haul (5/24) during the third match of the series. He made his ODI debut in the subsequent ODI series against England. At 33 years and 164 days old, he became the second oldest ODI debutant for India after
Farokh Engineer. In February 2025, Varun was named in India's 15-member squad for the
2025 ICC Champions Trophy. He took 5/42 in a group stage match against
New Zealand, his maiden ODI five-wicket haul in his second ODI appearance. He took two wickets each in the semifinal against Australia and in the
final against New Zealand. He finished as the tournament's joint second-highest wicket-taker with nine wickets in three matches at an
average of 15.11, as India won the tournament. He was subsequently named in the
Team of the Tournament by the
International Cricket Council. He was part of the Indian squad for the
2025 Asia Cup held in September 2025. He finished as the second highest wicket taker for India behind
Kuldeep Yadav, with seven wickets in six matches, as India won the title. Varun was named in the India squad for the
2026 Men's T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India in February–March 2026. India won the tournament by beating New Zealand in the final, and Varun finished as the joint highest wicket taker with 14 wickets. ==Personal life==