"His knee was totally finished when he was selected for the Indian team" - Harbhajan Singh lauds Varun Chakaravarthy's spell in KKR's win vs PBKS

Harbhajan Singh has lauded Varun Chakaravarthy for making an impressive comeback after being laid low by a troublesome knee when he was picked for the Indian team.

Chakaravarthy registered figures of 3/26 in four overs as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) restricted the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to 179/7 in their IPL 2023 clash in Kolkata on Monday, May 8. The home team then chased down the target off the very last delivery with five wickets to spare to climb into fifth position in the points table.

During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Harbhajan was asked about his thoughts on Varun Chakaravarthy's spell, to which he responded:

"When I played with him (for KKR), he had a lot of pain in his knee. He was playing while taking injections and applying ice packs but he still bowled very well. His knee was totally finished when he was selected for the Indian team."

The former Indian spinner praised the Tamil Nadu bowler for working on his fitness and coming back into contention for a place in Team India, explaining:

"When I had spoken to him, it was only that he had to reduce his weight. There was a lot of pressure on his knee because of his weight. Now the knee is fine, he has reduced his weight, and is fielding and bowling better. So this guy has once again joined the line to come into the Indian team."

Chakaravarthy has picked up only two wickets in the six T20Is he has played but has an exceptional economy of 5.86. He was ignored after India failed to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021.

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"He is bowling at a very good pace" - Harbhajan Singh on Varun Chakaravarthy's specialty in IPL 2023

Varun Chakaravarthy trapped Liam Livingstone in front of the wickets. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Harbhajan Singh pointed out that Varun Chakaravarthy is bowling at an ideal pace in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, elaborating:

"The specialty of his bowling this year is that he is bowling at a very good pace. He is not giving the batters a chance to play shots off the back foot once they have gone forward. If you miss that moment once, this guy will take your wicket. He is bowling extremely well and his confidence has increased."

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted how the KKR spinner flummoxed Liam Livingstone with a delivery that went away after pitching, stating:

"Liam Livingstone had no idea. The bat was somewhere and the eyes were somewhere else, he was beaten all ends up. Then there was a fantastic catch (Rahmanullah Gurbaz's catch to dismiss Jitesh Sharma). It is so good to see him making a comeback because a lot of people had written him off."

Varun Chakaravarthy dismissed Livingstone leg-before-wicket and then had Jitesh Sharma caught behind by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The mystery spinner completed his three-wicket haul by castling Rishi Dhawan.

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