Varun Chakravarthy of India (Photo by Christiaan Kotze/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
While Abhishek Sharma stole the limelight with his dazzling stroke-play, there was another Indian player who quietly went about doing his business with the ball and eventually ended as the Player of the Series. Varun Chakravarthy returned with 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 triumph against England and bamboozled the visitors with his spin and guile in the five-match series.
RG looks at Varun Chakravarthy 2.0 in T20 cricket.
Leading wicket-taker in England series
Chakravarthy returned with 14 wickets in just five matches at a stunning average of 9.85 and strike rate of 7.7 against England playing the pivotal role with the ball in his country’s comprehensive 4-1 drubbing of the visitors. He set a record for the most wickets for an Indian bowler in a bilateral T20I series and was adjudged the Player of the Series for his efforts.
Incidentally, the previous record was also held by Chakravarthy who had picked 12 wickets against South Africa in an away series in November last year. Only Jason Holder has picked more wickets in a bilateral series than the maverick Indian leg spinner – the West Indian pacer bagged 15 wickets against England in 2022.
Chakravarthy was brilliant in all three phases in the series against England. He was restrictive in the powerplay where he delivered four overs and conceded just 27 runs at an economy of just 6.8. He bagged nine wickets in the middle overs at an average of 9.4 and strike rate of 7.3 while also picking four wickets at an economy of 8.7 at the death. Interestingly, all 14 of his wickets were right-handers against whom he averaged 8.1 in the series.
Unleashing his entire repertoire of deliveries
Chakravarthy got his majority eight wickets through his stock delivery – the googly – at a magnificent average of 8.5 and strike rate of 6.4! However, unlike in the past where he has relied more on side-spin, Chakravarthy 2.0 has worked on his conventional leg-break and is now a more complete master of the art. He has learnt to use more over-spin on his deliveries which is helping him in being a more traditional leg spinner. Three of Chakravarthy’s wickets in the series came with the leg-break.
The highest wicket-taker in T20Is since Oct 2024
Chakravarthy did not have a great outing for India in his debut year in 2021 when he picked just two wickets in six matches at an average of 66. After good seasons with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2020 and 2021, the mystery behind the mystery spinner seemed to have disappeared and he had a tough season with the franchise in 2022 – bagging just six wickets in 11 matches at an average of 55.3 before being benched.
Chakravarthy went back to the drawing board, put in the hard yards and altered his craft to return a more complete and holistic leg spinner. It has brought him rich dividends as the leggie is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL (combined) of the last two seasons. He has picked a total of 41 wickets in 28 innings in IPL 2023 and 2024 at an average of 20.26, strike rate of 15 and economy of 8.09. So, not only has Chakravarthy been amongst the wickets but also been very restrictive even as bat dominated ball like never before in the IPL last season. He was the highest wicket-taker for KKR in their historic triumph last season.
Chakravarthy made a comeback to the Indian unit in the home series against Bangladesh in October, 2024 and since then has been in a class of his own. He is not only the leading wicket-taker for India but in the world in this time-frame with 31 dismissals in just 12 innings at an astonishing average of 11.25 and strike rate of 8.9! He has also been very economical conceding just 7.58 runs per over in this time-frame.
If he continues in this manner and form, Chakravarthy will be India’s main weapon with the ball as they defend their T20 World Cup title at home and Sri Lanka next year.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
