Varun Chakravarthy was in his element of the Asian Cup. | Photo credit: AFP
On Wednesday, the first eight deliveries of Varun Chakaravarthy against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium were taken for 21 points. The expensive departure can have annoyed certain quieters, but the Tamil Nadu’s leg spinner with a bag of variations in his sleeve seems to be taking most things in his stride.
The 34-year-old man, in his 22nd T20i, replied by cleaning Shamim Hospals and conceded only eight other points of his next 16 bullets to finish with well-stored figures of 4-0-29-2.
Play one’s part
He duly played his role, alongside Kuldeep Yadav (4-0-18-3) and Jasprit Bumrah (4-0-18-2), in a 41-point victory while India sealed his place in the Asian Cup final on Sunday. Even when his first end, in the power game, made 13 points, Varun said that he had never stopped chasing the counters.
“In the PowerPlay, the only objective is to search for counters,” said Varun when the post-match media interaction.
Aggressive tactics
“It’s about looking for this ball that launches in the right place and turns a little. It’s my role. Even if I do a few shopping, my goal is to continue attacking and trying to look for counters.” According to Varun, Dubai’s surfaces offer more purchase for the spinners once the ball has aged. “At the start, the ball was gone more. If you play in the power game or just after the power game, there is not much help. But once the terrain spreads and the game is progressing, it improves,” he evaluated.
Work on other facets
After having evolved into a reliable white ball operator for India in recent months, Varun is also working on other facets of his game.
“After the end of the IPL, I played in the Premier League of Tamil Nadu. After the TNPL, I had a weekly break where I went a lot,” he said.
“I worked on my striker and my field. It was my goal,” added Varun.
Published – September 25, 2025 23:22
