ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Mumbai, March 4: India’s frontline spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was one of the four squad members who chose to train on a scorching Mumbai afternoon a day ahead of the T20 World Cup semifinal against England.
Chakaravarthy has been India’s trump card in the middle overs over the past 12 months, winning them games on multiple occasions. He has become a lot more effective ever since he increased his speed and switched to over-spin from side-spin.
His strength is to target the stumps and get the ball to move either way which keeps the batters guessing more often than not.
He took as many as 36 wickets last year at an average of 13.19 and an economy rate of 7.08. The mystery spinner was lethal as usual in the initial part of the T20 World Cup but has not been as consistent with his lengths in the Super Eights stage of the tournament, proving to be a tad expensive against West Indies and South Africa.
After the high intensity training session on Tuesday night, he could have rested like the majority of the players but he chose to hone his skills in the heat.
He just limited himself to spot bowling, trying to find his lengths. On a number of times, he was on the shorter side.
There were balls fired at the the stumps while the other times, he chose to operate on a wide line.
The support staff present at the ground – T Dilip, Morne Morkel, Ryan ten Doeschate and Sitanshu Kotak – were seen having long conversations with Chakaravarthy.
He will be up against an in-form Harry Brook, which will be one of the match-ups to track on Thursday night.
Bowling coach Morkel praised Chakaravarthy’s special skills but said there are times he can put too much pressure on himself.
“It was a normal routine session with Varun. He really enjoys single wicket practice day before the game where mentally he can go through the process. Conversations we have had it is about clarity and for him to be feeling good about his bowling,” said Morkel, playing down the long conversations with the spinner.
How does Chakaravarthy’s mind operate while preparing for a game? Morkel did not reveal much there.
“It’s a tricky question to answer here now. Obviously I can’t reveal his process. But I keep on telling him that in our bowling line-up, with the skill and variation varun’s got, he’s got the ability to take a wicket almost every ball. So if he goes to a boundary or the ball, he’s not executed as well as possible.
“For him it’s just to move on to the next one and make sure he commits to that next ball. I think he’s a highly skilful guy, hard to pick once you walk into the crease. So for him it’s just about getting that confidence with the ball, getting his speed, his length, control right, and not trying to overthink it.
“With Varun at times, to his credit, he wants to be a big performer for the team. So he will put a little bit of pressure on himself. But he’s a match-winner for us, and for him it’s just to stay and bowl every ball and make sure it’s his best ball,” added the bowling coach. (PTI)
