IPL 2021: “Varun Chakravarthy could be very effective in UAE conditions”- Salman Butt highly impressed with KKR spinner

Former Pakistan batter Salman Butt reckons that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) leggie Varun Chakravarthy could be very effective in UAE conditions because of his unique skills with the ball. According to Butt, deception is the Indian leg-spinner’s greatest strength.

Chakravarthy was named man of the match for his figures of 3 for 13 as Kolkata thumped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by nine wickets in match 31 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Praising Chakravarthy’s performance, Butt explained that the bowler’s action makes it difficult to spot which way the ball would turn after landing. The former Pakistan skipper said on his YouTube channel:

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“Varun Chakravarthy bowled very well. He could be very effective in UAE conditions. He is very deceptive. With the kind of action he possesses, it is difficult to spot whether the ball will come in or go out. This deception is an art.”

According to Butt, not only Chakravarthy but all the other Knight Riders bowlers were also up to the task on the day. He added:

“All KKR bowlers bowled well. Prasidh Krishna and Lockie Ferguson also impressed. RCB’s batting looked helpless against KKR bowlers on the day. It was a clueless performance from RCB and they need to get their act together soon or they could be in trouble.”

The 36-year-old further pointed out that the Knight Riders have begun well in the mission to improve their performance in the second half of IPL 2021. Butt explained:

“Brendon McCullum (KKR coach) had stated that the team will be looking to finish off well. They have definitely got off to a good start in the second half. They picked up all the wickets as well and with the bat they raced away to 82 in nine overs.”

“Shubman Gill played a silky-smooth innings for KKR” - Salman Butt

The former Pakistan captain has been a fan of Shubman Gill’s batting. The KKR opener’s knock of 48 from 34 balls against RCB impressed Butt. Butt said:

“Shubman Gill played a silky-smooth innings for KKR. He has a lot of time on hand to play his strokes and bats with ease. Definitely, he is a special talent. Even when he played in the World Test Championship final in England, before getting injured, he looked in great control though he did not score a lot of runs."

He added:

"But he batted neatly and never seemed in any kind of trouble. When such batters play well, others in the team also get the confidence that the conditions are not tough and runs can be scored easily. Thus, players like Gill are extremely valuable.”

Kolkata will next take on two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, September 23.