Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy clarified his relationship with veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He also explained why captain Rohit Sharma mentioned that he doesn’t bowl many variations in the nets.
Chakravarthy and Ashwin were teammates at Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2024. Ashwin correctly predicted that Chakravarthy would replace Harshit Rana in the India team for the match against New Zealand.
After his impressive performance of 5 wickets for 42 runs against New Zealand, Chakravarthy spoke about his connection with Ashwin.
“Yes, I have spoken to Ashwin during our time in TNPL, as I play for his team. We have conversations then. He has always been supportive,” Chakravarthy stated in a press conference.
Earlier, before a match against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma had commented that Chakravarthy seems to bowl only “one kind of variety” during net sessions.
Chakravarthy explained Rohit’s statement, saying, “In T20 cricket, I plan my over differently, with a different sequence of balls. It’s different in ODI cricket. That’s why they might think I don’t have many variations, but I do have all kinds of variations.”
Chakravarthy admitted to feeling nervous before the game against New Zealand due to past experiences. He recalled his disappointing performance at the T20 World Cup 2021.
He overcame his nervousness with the support of senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya, who encouraged him to remain calm throughout his bowling spell.
“In my first spell, I was a bit nervous because of past emotions from three years ago on this ground. I was trying to control those feelings. But Virat, Rohit, and Hardik kept telling me to calm down. Their support really helped,” he added.
