DTVHINDI
“Earlier I was a side-spin bowler, but now I have become a complete over-spin bowler,” Varun Chakravarthy told the press conference after the match.
After a spectacular comeback and match-winning performances as he returned to international cricket after three years, Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy reveals the secret of his recent success that has led to him being called up to the national team once again.
Playing his first international match since the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, Chakraborty took three match-winning wickets as the young Indian team recorded a comfortable eight-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first T20I in Gwalior on Sunday.
How did Varun Chakraborty make a comeback?
Speaking on his success in recent years, the 33-year-old player said that the change from side-spin bowling to over-spin bowling helped him achieve more success.
“Earlier I was a side-spin bowler, but now I have become a complete over-spin bowler,” Varun told the post-match press conference.
The spinner said he worked on this type of bowling for more than two years, starting with some testing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and Indian Premier League.
He further said, “It is a small technical aspect of spin bowling, but it took me more than two years. I gradually tested it in TNPL and IPL. Although the mental aspect also had to be worked on, the bulk of the effort I put in was on my technical side.”
During his time away from the Indian team, he became one of the main bowlers for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, teaming up with West Indies T20 superstar spin legend Sunil Narine. After a poor 2022 season, in which he took just six wickets in 11 matches, he made a strong comeback in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, in which he took 20 and 21 wickets respectively.
In the 2024 IPL, his partnership with Narine in spin bowling and average of 19.14 played a crucial role in the franchise’s first IPL win in 10 years and third title overall.
