3 reasons why India must consider Varun Chakravarthy in their plans for T20 World Cup 2024

'Mystery Bowlers' is a tactic that has brought with it a sense of anticipation and thrill among the cricketing fraternity over the years, and the same gusto was seen when Varun Chakravarthy started making inroads in Indian cricket as a mystery spinner.

The Bidar-born cricketer turned 32 on August 29, and in his cricketing career, which has been quite a roller coaster ride, he has experienced so many ups and downs that it can be apt for an inspiring biopic.

After getting hammered for 25 runs in his only over bowled in IPL 2019, picking up 17 wickets in IPL 2020, and getting his maiden India call-up in the same year, Varun Chakravarthy rose like a phoenix.

He was later included in the Indian squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 on the back of another successful IPL, where he picked up 18 wickets.

Varun Chakravarthy came into the marquee event with high hopes, but his performance was below par, and he went wicketless in the three games he played and was rightly dropped.

But that didn't stop him from working on his skills and adding new weapons to his repertoire.

In this article, we are going to discuss some of the reasons why India should once again consider the name of Varun Chakravarthy for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies.

3 reasons why India must consider Varun Chakravarthy in their plans for T20 World Cup 2024

#3. Good performance in TNPL

Varun Chakravarthy had a great season in the Tamil Nadu Premier League in 2023 as while playing for Dindigul Dragons, he picked up 13 wickets with an SR of 16.6 and a mean economy of 6.53.

A much fitter and rejuvenated Varun 2.0 was there for everyone to see as he was outfoxing the batsmen with his variations.

#2. All-phase bowling abilities

The Varun Chakravarthy of 2020–21 that we knew would try to bowl more on the stumps, trying his variations, but Varun in 2023 attacks the fourth and fifth stump lines to lure the batsmen into his trap.

This way, he can go for runs but will end up with crucial wickets more often than not.

In fact, in the IPL 2023, he was among those bowlers who were trusted to bowl in all three phases and was the only Indian spinner to bowl more than 10 overs in the final four.

Varun bowled at least 20% of his overs in each of the three phases, had the best strike rate among Indian spinners in the powerplay (19.2) and middle overs (14.2), and was second only to Yuzvendra Chahal in the death overs (16).

The reason he had so much success this year was his ability to turn the ball both ways, which he seemed to have lost in previous years.

He was one of just three spinners to have bowled 40% or more deliveries that both turned in and out, the others being Mayank Markande and Piyush Chawla.

Also, Varun Chakravarthy looked to mix his variations without any change in speed or length; 71% of deliveries were in a 90–100 kmph zone, while 24% were in an 80–90 kmph zone.

Varun was consistently good across phases and regularly turned the ball both ways, and it wouldn't be entirely wrong to say that he was the season’s most well-rounded spinner.

#1. India needs an attacking spinner.

With Yuzvendra Chahal's performance going downhill and management's lack of trust in Kuldeep Yadav, India lacks attacking spinners who can be effective on slow Caribbean pitches in the upcoming T20 World Cup in 2024.

With his ability to bowl in all phases of the game, a death over pacer spot can also be saved with Varun covering that role, providing extra options for the side to explore.