Varun Chakraborty (Photo AFP) CHENNAI: The T20 World Cup triumph must have been bittersweet for Varun Chakravarthy. The mystery spinner, tipped as India’s X-factor bowler, was not at his best. Although he finished with 14 scalps with the highest wicket of the tournament, his economy rate of 9.25 was a bit high by his own excellent standards.It was significantly higher than his career economy rate of 7.55 and Varun admitted after the triumph that the conditions were tough for him.
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“They are super batter-friendly wickets, so it was a bit challenging for me. But on the other hand, I managed to pick up a wicket every now and then which was crucial for my side,” said Varun, adding that the World Cup triumph was the most memorable moment of his career.While this was hardly alarming, the fact that his economy rates in the virtual quarter-final, semi-final and final were 10, 16 and 13, respectively, may have prompted Varun to do some soul-searching ahead of the IPL, where he plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders.With Kuldeep Yadav waiting in the wings and other wrist players like Zeeshan Ansari and Ravi Bishnoi also in contention, Varun will be looking to rediscover his best form as India begin preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.Harbhajan Singh, one of India’s top spinners, believes that Varun will bounce back stronger.“Firstly, he is a master bowler. I first saw him at the Chennai Super Kings nets in 2018 where he was a practice bowler. I told the CSK management to pick him immediately – which they didn’t – because even then he was often unplayable in the nets,” Bhajji told TOI. Harbhajan felt that one thing that bothered Varun in this World Cup was the way the batsmen handled him off the back foot.“Normally, Varun takes the batsman for fun when he tries shots off the back foot. But in this World Cup, he went for a run and that might be because he got the length a bit wrong,” Harbhajan said.Despite being labeled a mystery spinner, Varun usually attacks the stumps as his leg-break does not spin much. There were suggestions during the tournament that the batsmen were reading him a bit better. However, Bhajji rejected this theory.“There are no mysteries in modern cricket. When it comes to top players, people often know what the next ball is going to be. Everyone knew that Dale Steyn’s best delivery was an outswinger, but that made him easy to face? It’s a battle of execution between the batsman and the bowler. If the bowler gets it right, he’ll be successful,” said the international wickets off-spinner.11 with 7mi.During the World Cup, when the batsmen tried to attack Varun more aggressively, the spinner strayed from his strengths at times. Sunil Gavaskar pointed out during the commentary that when Varun was under pressure, he tended to mix too quickly, making him resemble a medium-pacer.There was a phase in Anil Kumble’s career when something similar happened, but the legendary leg-spinner was quick to deal with it. Harbhajan noted that Kumble’s greatest strength was his ability to avoid self-doubt.“Anil bhai’s height allowed him to get the bounce and his biggest advantage was that he could bowl in the same place all day. That is a rare quality. Varun can certainly refer to the Kumble playbook,” Bhajji said.He suggested that single-stump practice could help improve accuracy.“That was something I used to do a lot and it helped me,” added the off-spinner, who won four IPL titles with Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.While Varun’s biggest weapon remains his googly, Harbhajan believes it would help if the KKR spinner worked more on deliveries that move away from right-handers.“Variation is important. If he gets it right, the batters won’t be able to think ahead against him. Varun will now have some time and can try these things in the IPL. I know he is mentally strong and I fully believe he will continue to play a key role in India’s quest for further T20 success,” Bhajji said.That would be good news for India as full-fire Varun Chakravarthy adds a whole different dimension to the bowling attack.
