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Follow UsAfter the disappointing T20 World Cup 2021, Varun Chakaravarthy was one of the bowlers who got the axe from the national setup. However, over the last three years, the Tamil Nadu spinner has worked hard on his game to earn himself a comeback to the national setup.
“The last three years were a little tough,” Chakaravarthy said at the post-match press conference after the second T20I against South Africa.
In all T20s since 2022, the mystery spinner has picked up 118 wickets, averaging 19.5 with the ball, showing great level of consistency. Undoubtedly, his sparkling display for Kolkata Knight Riders in their title-winning campaign is what pushed him back into the Indian mix.
The Tamil Nadu man picked up 21 wickets at IPL 2024 and then followed it with 12 wickets for Dindigul Dragons to help them break their Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) trophy drought.
“The only thing I could do was play lots of cricket. And I started playing a lot of the domestic league (TNPL) in India. And that helped me understand my game better. And that’s what helped me.” Chakaravarthy said.
“Yes, we played the Bangladesh tour, and he was coaching the team. And definitely, we spoke a lot, and he [Gambhir] gave me a lot of role clarity,” Varun added.
The 33-year-old also revealed his chat with India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, stating that the ‘role clarity’ that the latter provided helped him flourish as a bowler.
“He told me, even if you go for 30-40 runs, it doesn’t matter. All you have to do is to pick wickets. So that’s your role in the team. And yeah, the clarity which they gave helped me,” he added.
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Varun was yet again amongst wickets in the second T20I against South Africa, with figures of 5/17 on a track that had assistance for the spinners. He was India’s best bowler on the night, with his bag of tricks bamboozling the South African batters.
“During the innings break, Surya (skipper Suryakumar Yadav) came and told us not to think about the result and let’s just go all out. And that’s what we tried to do. We did our best, and we could have pulled it off,” he said.
“When we came to South Africa, we knew that it’s going to be a challenging tour because the Proteas are one of the best teams right now, and they have a powerful batting lineup. Doing well against them gives me the motivation to do better, and I can. Hopefully, I can do well in the upcoming games.”
With the series tied at 1-1, the focus now shifts to Centurion, with the third T20I on November 13.
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