Varun Chopra

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Varun Chopra (born 21 June 1987 in Barking, Greater London) is an English cricketer, and has captained the English U-19 cricket team in series against Sri Lanka in 2005 and India in 2006.

Chopra attended Ilford County High School and played for Ilford Cricket Club.

He plays for Essex, and made his debut for the senior side in 2006, making 106 in a drawn game against Gloucestershire, becoming the youngest player to score a century for Essex in county cricket.

The latest to come off an impressive conveyor belt of young batsmen at Essex, Varun Chopra is an opening batsman of considerable talent. He 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.

Varun Chopra joined the Willetton Dragons cricket club in the 2006/07 season to play first grade in Western Australia.

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.