Ahead of India’s T20 World Cup final clash against New Zealand on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, former bowling coach Bharat Arun has thrown his support behind spinner Varun Chakravarthy, advocating for his inclusion.
Chakravarthy, 34, has experienced a challenging phase in the tournament recently. Although he has consistently picked up wickets, his economy rate has been a concern, giving away 186 runs across his last four appearances at an average of 11.63 runs per over. A notable instance was his spell of 1 for 64 in the semi-final against England.
Despite these recent struggles, Arun firmly believes India should retain Chakravarthy for the final. The seasoned coach also offered crucial guidance for the spinner to regain his form against New Zealand.
“No, no, no. He was brilliant in the past, wasn’t he? Exceptional, in fact. Don’t get defensive by bowling wide. When you try to bowl wide, it’s not working. If you analyse it, he has been effective when he’s attacking the stumps. So attack the stumps,” Arun emphasized.
He further elaborated, “He might as well attack. He’s not going to give away more than 64 runs anyway. But at least he will have an opportunity to get a wicket. That’s what I’m saying. Somebody should talk to him and tell him, ‘Varun, you stick to your strength. Don’t deviate from that. Your strength is attacking the wicket.’ Most of his victims, if you analyse it, are either LBW or bowled. What does that mean? It means he’s attacking the stumps. Why move away from that? One odd ball bowled wide is okay, but not when you’re moving away from the stumps. He’s trying to escape, and that’s not going to work.”
Despite his recent struggles, Chakravarthy still stands as India’s top wicket-taker in the current T20 World Cup, having claimed 13 wickets from eight matches. His overall tournament economy rate is 8.85, with an average of just over 19 runs per wicket.
