CHENNAI: For Varun Chakravarthy, victory in the T20 World Cup must have been a bittersweet experience. The enigmatic spinner was considered India’s X-factor bowler but he was not at his best. Although he is the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps, his economy rate of 9.25 is a bit high by his own standards of excellence.
This was significantly higher than his career economy rate of 7.55, with Varun admitting after the win that the conditions were challenging for him.
“These were super batsman-friendly wickets, so it was a bit of a challenge for me. But on the other hand, I was able to pick up wickets here and there, which was crucial for my team,” Varun said, adding that the World Cup victory was the most memorable moment of his career.
While it’s not a cause for concern, the fact that his economy rates in the virtual quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals were 10, 16 and 13 respectively may prompt Varun to do some soul-searching ahead of the IPL, in which he plays for Kolkata Knight Riders.
With Kuldeep Yadav waiting in the wings and other spinsters like Zeeshan Ansari and Ravi Bishnoi also in contention, Varun will be keen to rediscover his best form as India begins preparations for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Harbhajan Singh, one of India’s best off-spinners, is confident Varun will bounce back stronger.
“First and foremost, he is a championship bowler. I first met him in 2018 when he was a practice bowler for the Chennai Super Kings nets. I told the CSK management to select him immediately but they did not do so because even then, he was often unavailable in the nets,” Bhajji told TOI.
Harbhajan feels that one thing that bothered Varun in this World Cup was the way batsmen treated him off the back foot.
“Normally, Varun would have fun by getting batsmen out when they were trying to shoot off the back foot. But in this World Cup, he would get runs and that might be because he missed the length a little bit,” Harbhajan said.
Although Varun is tagged as a mystery spinner, he usually attacks the stumps as he doesn’t spin much as he has a broken leg. Batsmen were advised during the game to read him better. However, Budge dismissed this theory.
“There are no mysteries in modern cricket. When it comes to top players, people usually know what the next ball will be. Everyone knows Dale Steyn’s best delivery is off-spin, but does that make him easy to face? It’s a battle of execution between the batsman and the bowler. If the bowler is right, he will succeed,” said the off-spinner with 711 international wickets.
During the World Cup, the spinner sometimes strayed away from his forte when batsmen tried to attack Varun more aggressively. Sunil Gavaskar noted in his commentary that Varun tends to bowl a little too fast when under pressure, making him look like a medium-pace player.
A similar incident happened to Anil Kumble at one point in his career, but the legendary leg-spinner dealt with the matter quickly. Harbhajan noted that Kumble’s greatest strength is his ability to avoid self-doubt.
“Anil Bhai’s height gives him bounce and his biggest advantage is that he can bat at the same place all day long. This is a rare quality. Varun can certainly take a look at Kumble’s playbook,” Badji said.
He recommends practicing with a single stump to help improve accuracy.
“This is something I used to do and it helped me a lot,” added the off-spinner, who won four IPL titles with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
While Varun’s biggest weapon remains his lob, Harbhajan believes it would help if the KKR spinner could practice bowling more away from right-handers.
“Variation is important. If he bowls right, batsmen won’t be able to premeditate against him. Varun will now have some time and can try these things in the IPL. I know he is mentally strong and I have every confidence that he will continue to play a key role in India’s quest for more T20 success,” Badji said.
This is good news for India as Varun Chakravarthy is on fire and adds a completely different dimension to the bowling attack.
