Varun exorcises the ghosts of Dubai to finish the redemption arc

There seems to be a karmic connection between Varun Chakravarthy and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). It was here that Ravi Shastri, the India coach at the time, came across Varun Chakravarthy for the first time and recommended him as a valuable addition to the squad for Australia. To this day, it has remained prophetic. In 2021, Chakravarthy was ripping through the Big Bash and Indian T20 leagues grabbing headlines, and firmly established his credentials as a gamechanger. Fast forward a few years and he was reduced to shredding paper in international matches, leaving critics wondering what happened to the gamechanger he once was.

The India vs New Zealand T20 world cup clash where India suffered a resounding defeat is now the stuff of nightmares for Chakravathy. His fantasy transformation to a match winning pacer encountered a harsh reality when he was treated like a club bowler by Buisness Ahamadil and Muhammad Rizwan who helped themselves to an effortless 10 wicket victory. He went to grab headlines again when he returned from the world cup and made his IPL debut. This time he again attempted to wave his wand against New Zealand at the world stage.

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However, on Sunday night, Chakravarthy looked like a different man and cast his magic spell again. His mystery and mojo were restored. Returning from the background of a patchy Indian performance, Chakravarhty ripped the New Zealand batting lineup in the world cup with incredible 5 wickets. India materialized an unforgettable 44-run win.

Looking back Chakravarthy said, “Chakaravarthy noted, looking back, “Yeah, of course in 2021, we didn’t have – I didn’t, personally, have a great tournament here. But, I do feel that I bowled decently. But it seems that the results were not in our favor. But, it looks good right now. And, Team India is doing fine.”

In three spells over ten overs, he completely dismantled the New Zealand batsmen with his variations and left the Indian management in multi-minds on whether to play him in the semifinal against Australia in a couple of days. “He has something about him which is different, so we wanted to see what he can do. We haven’t given a lot of thought to the next game, but it is a nice problem to have,” said the skipper Rohit Sharma after the match.

“Oh, he bowled beautifully, did he not?” said New Zealand’s Matt Henry, the fast bowler who had himself taken five wickets in the match. “I think he showed his skill tonight, the way he turned the ball both ways, the way he could bowl pace. I thought he was brilliant.” Chakaravarthy’s figures were the same as Henry’s. Both took 5 wickets for 42 runs.

Chasing a modest total of 250, the New Zealand batsmen set off well at 93 for two before succumbing as their skipper Mitchell Santner said, India certainly strangled them quite a bit with their four outstanding spinners. But the most prominent of the four was Chakaravarthy who made his ODI debut in this game, and quite unbelievably, he was only playing his second ODI.

Chakravarthy mystifies us as a bowler. As high profile as Rohit Sharma, he states that Chakravarthy doesn’t bowl all his varying styles, not even during practice. He is said to possess a mystery element so that the batsmen do not sort him out.

On Sunday, however, he was in the mood to discuss the specifics of his bowling. “It is basically a ball that goes inside, outside, and then goes straight. You can keep it that way, but there are minute changes that can be made with it as well,” he went on, trying to explain his bowling. If only it was that easy. His mystery element is so refined that choosing him is as difficult as attempting to face a white ball against a white sight screen.

Batsmen facing him would certainly support that. There are some minute details that are hard to miss – his point of delivery, drift, speed, and length. Another strong suit of Chakravarthy is his accuracy, which he relies on primarily for deception. He is hard to pick, especially when the wicket is in good shape, like it was at DICS on Sunday night, making it a nightmare scenario for the batsmen.

After performing for the last three hours grueling hours, Chakravarthy was finally let loose and came off the field sore but fulfilled after playing a hand in the victory. He completed ten overs for the team while allowing sixty runs. He palmed off five crucial catches which Chandkumar announced to be the best of the night for himself. While trying to hand over the ball, Will Young flicked a catch, and Chakravarhty had his first wicket. Glenn Phillips struck a six and got a bit carried away, and Michael Bracewell was given out LBW which was a wrong decision, and then Mitchell Santner fell trying to defend a seam-up ball which was far too easy. Finally, Matt Henry was out looking to go up a gear.

He later confessed: “I think I could have done it better. Luck is not how I would describe it. Strategy is a better term. Strategy is what I used for all the deliveries. Everything was scripted. And if it happens, it happens. I believe the game of cricket is more complex and you can never rely on luck.”

For the one-dayers, time is never on his side and it is always a challenge for Chakravarthy, 33, who is primarily a T20 cricketer. He loves playing shorter formats because in the ODIs, he is usually on the receiving end and batsmen are always keen to smother him in T20s. But the Kolkata Knight Riders and Tamil Nadu spinner has progressed, perfecting his skills in the 50-over Vijay Hazare tournament at the domestic level.

Referring to the 50-over tournament, Chakaravarthy said, “Shifting to that format improved my sense of when to bowl my incoming delivery, outgoing delivery, or maybe even the straighter one.” It is totally unlike how I play in the T20 format. I had to play a lot before grasping it, but yeah, I was more aware of when to bowl. For more Information; Click Here