After some back-to-back unfortunate outings for Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy, former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan has expressed severe concern about his tactical approach more than his skillset. He also suggested the flaws in Varun’s bowling and claimed that if he is doing that consciously, then it is a major concern for India.
Coming into this ICC World Cup, India’s best has not been performing to the maximum of their merits. One of the classic examples is the no. 1 bowler from India in recent times, Varun Chakravarthy. The spinner has had a good tournament until the Super-8s, but ever since has failed to produce an impact.
Instead, the players have not even felt the pressure of Chakravarthy being a part of India’s XI. In the last two Super-8 games, the leggie has picked 3 wickets at a terrible average of 41 and an economy of 10.25. The last two games were against South Africa and Zimbabwe.
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“One concern is Varun Chakaravarthy” – Irfan Pathan
Going further ahead in the competition, India would need their best spinner to fire. West Indies batters have been very dominant against spinners. They thrashed Keshav Maharaj, Sikander Raza and Graeme Creamer in the last two games, and Chakravarthy would have to return to his very best against an opposition largely comprised of right-handers.
However, citing that Varun Chakravarthy will be up against the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Sherfane Rutherford, former Indian paceman Irfan Pathan has sensed a deep concern for his tactics in the do-or-die game for India. He feels Varun has gone too short in the last couple of games.
“One concern is Varun Chakaravarthy. I had mentioned in commentary as well that about 63 percent of his deliveries were on the shorter side. Varun is not typically the kind of spinner who bowls at a strict four-metre length; his length is comparatively a bit shorter.
“But it should not be so short that it misses the top of the stumps completely. In the last two matches, he has been bowling fuller to left-handers, but against right-handers his length has looked short,” said Pathan on his YouTube channel.
“If he is consciously practicing bowling that short, it could create complications” – Pathan said from Chennai
Irfan Pathan further stressed on the fact that this observation was made by him not only in the match but also in the nets in Chennai. Hence, he pointed out that if Varun Chakravarthy intentionally bowls short, this would be a major concern for India.
“I also did not like some of the practice visuals from Chennai. As I kept saying in commentary, if he is consciously practicing bowling that short, it could create complications.
“There should not be unnecessary complications. Varun Chakaravarthy is still our number one bowler. Yes, the last two matches have not been great, and that is a concern,” he added.
However, he contradicted himself, saying sometimes the bowler needs to be trusted and if he wants to bowl a bit shorter he should be backed.
“If he comes around the wicket, especially to left-handers, he should try to get a bit closer to the stumps. Just one or two small tweaks are enough,” said Pathan, asking Varun Chakravarthy to not overcomplicated things.
“Varun Chakravarthy can also make a comeback in Kolkata,” Pathan backs Indian spinner
After having pointed out the flaws in Varun’s campaign over the past two games and ways in which he can get back his groove, Irfan Pathan also showed belief that the Indian spinner could bounce back totally in the next game, which is scheduled against the West Indies at Eden Gardens.
Chakravarthy plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders and plays most of his off-season cricket here; however, the Chidambaram was also his home ground, where he failed to trigger. He predicted:
“In fact, I would say that in the upcoming match against the West Indies, since he knows the Kolkata pitch well, I expect him to bounce back. Just like Abhishek Sharma returned to form in this match, Varun Chakaravarthy can also make a comeback in Kolkata after being a bit quiet in the last two games. If he picks up one or two wickets early against the West Indies, he can create a lot of pressure. That is my small prediction.”
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