Having taken ‘different career paths,’ Varun Chakravarthy has become a player India can’t afford to leave out of their Champions Trophy squad.
”Sir, basically, the ball goes inside, outside, and straight. So, you can keep it that way, but there are minute changes you can also make within that.”
Right at the end of a press conference, a journalist understandably asks Varun Chakravarthy about the number of variations he possesses. He’s not revealing his secrets. His reply suggests that he can make the ball go left, right, or straight – a response from someone who doesn’t want to be easily figured out.
From a mystery spinner, this secrecy is understandable. In fact, it’s quite a masterstroke.
Varun admits that he didn’t consider cricket a serious career until he was 26. ”Before that, my dreams were all about being an architect and making movies. So, I’ve had different career paths.”
And yet, here he is at 33, having taken 5 wickets for 42 runs in only his second ODI. He’s making a strong argument for his inclusion in the Champions Trophy semi-final, which is likely to be played on a worn pitch, potentially favoring his style of bowling. Varun is an IPL success story, with only one first-class match under his belt.
He embodies modern cricket – someone who views a sport obsessed over by billions merely as a ‘career path.’ His excellence in the game stems from his logical approach to breaking it down and understanding his unique contributions.
He explained how he adapted his bowling for the 50-over format, having initially emerged from the T20 arena.
”In T20s, my sequence of deliveries – how I construct an over – is completely different compared to the 50-over format,” Varun stated. ”I figured this out during the last two years playing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy [India’s premier domestic one-day tournament]. It really helped me understand when to bowl my incoming delivery, outgoing delivery, the straighter one, or the topspin – whatever is needed. It gave me an awareness of when to bowl what. It’s completely different from my T20 approach.”
In the match against New Zealand, Varun mentioned feeling less pressure due to the presence of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in the team.
However, there’s also the pressure of not revealing his strategies to upcoming opponents in the tournament, or even for teams he’ll face in the subsequent IPL season. Varun isn’t sharing his trade secrets, even with his own teammates.
Early in the Champions Trophy, India captain Rohit Sharma commented on Varun:
”He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets. He bowls just one type of delivery. Maybe he doesn’t want to show his variations to us either. But that’s a good thing. He has certain weapons he wants to use when it truly matters. I’m happy if he wants to do that.”
”But he has something different, which is why he’s here with us. He’s been impressive in the last eight to nine months. That’s why we wanted to bring him here and see what he offers and what he can do for India on the big stage.”
What he has offered India on the big stage is a strong suggestion for more ODI opportunities, especially on used pitches. The semi-final against Australia will likely be played on the same pitch used against Pakistan.
Varun, who didn’t play in India’s first two Champions Trophy matches, has now made himself very difficult to leave out of the team.
