GWALIOR: For the last three years-1066 days to be precise- since he was dropped from the Indian team after failing to take a wicket in three matches of India’s disastrous 2021 T20 World Cup campaign in Dubai, ‘mystery spinner’ Varun Chakravarthy would look up for his name whenever the national selectors announced a squad for a T20I series.
Having performed well in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders consistently in this phase, Varun was naturally optimistic about his chances of an India recall in this format where his assortment of carrom balls, leg breaks, googlies, off-breaks and the one that goes straight through make him an ace in the pack, which few opponents have a clue about.Each time, the selection snub would leave him dejected, but fuelled him to try harder in domestic cricket. Slowly but surely, the fire burning inside and the grind in domestic cricket helped him find his mojo back.
On Sunday night, playing his first India game in three years, Varun bowled beautifully, taking three for 31 in four overs -his career-best figures-to star in the hosts’ seven-wicket romp over Bangladesh at the Shrimant Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium. The 33-year-old took the wickets of Towhid Hridoy (pulled a flat delivery to Hardik Pandya at long on), Jaker Ali (bowled by a mesmerizing googly) and Rishad Hossain (top-edged to Pandya at deep-midwicket).
Naturally, with emotions briming inside him, Varun told former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik on the official broadcast after the game that playing for India again after a long gap felt like a “rebirth.” “After three long years and… it was definitely emotional for me, and it feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth,” Varun said.
Varun first came into the limelight when he picked up 17 wickets, including a devastating spell of 5-20 against the Delhi Capitals in IPL-2020. In IPL-2021, appearing even more unplayable, he took 18 wickets in 17 games@24.88, at an economy rate of 6.58. His magnificent spin partnership with Sunil Narine was a major reason why the Kolkata Knight Riders reached the IPL-2021 final.
However, after he took just two wickets in six T20Is, Varun was excluded. The perception that he is a liability on the field didn’t help. Despite having performed well in the IPL for KKR, the tweaker played only his seventh T20I, and his first in India, on Sunday night. “It has been a long three years and whenever there was a squad announced for a series, I used to feel like ‘why is my name not there?’ and I used to keep thinking about that. So that kind of brought the motivation within me that I should not leave this. I should go all out, and I should try to make a comeback. I started playing a lot of domestic games and I started giving importance to it. That kind of helped me,” Varun said at the post-match press conference.
Explaining how a technical adjustment helped him find his rhythm back, Varun said, “I used to be a side-spin bowler but right now, I have completely shifted to an over-spin bowler which is a minute technical aspect of spin bowling. From side spin to over spin, it took me more than two years. In these three years, the major chunk of work which I put in was in my technical aspect.”
Being a spinner from Tamil Nadu, Varun was bound to be influenced by India’s off-spin ace in Test cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin. Revelling while playing under Ashwin in the recently-concluded Tamil Nadu Premier League, Varun helped the Ashwin-captained Dindigul Dragons win the trophy, taking 12 wickets (joint-highest for his team along with pacer Sandeep Warrier) at an impressive economy of 6.61, including two for 26 in the final. “It’s (TNPL) is a very good tournament and of a high standard as well. That’s a place where I work a lot, with Ash (Ashwin) bhai also, we won the championship there so that gave me confidence here. I just played it a few months ago. It was good preparation for this series,” he told the broadcasters.
2024, of course, has been kind to Varun. His fabulous performances in the IPL and the TNPL haven’t gone unnoticed, and he has finally earned an India recall. Varun had played a massive role in making India coach Gautam Gambhir‘s last assignment, as the KKR mentor, successful, taking 21 wickets in 14 matches, the second-highest tally of the season, to help the Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise emerge as champions in IPL-2024 trophy. Clearly, Gambhir and India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, who too was earlier with KKR in the same capacity, have a fair idea of the value that Varun brings to the table. The spinner said he hasn’t interacted much with Gambhir so far.
“He is a man of few words, so we didn’t talk much during our time in KKR. We only used to talk about the game. However, this is my first match with him. So, I am waiting to spend more time with him,” he said.
On the spilled chance at deep square leg by debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy off his bowling in his first over, Varun said it’s part of the game. “I am very happy to contribute towards the team. Yes, in the first over the catch could have gone my way but that’s how T20s are played. I felt the reverse-sweep six was a good ball but it still went for a six, so it’s all mixed emotions.”