3 min readMar 6, 2026 04:59 PM IST
4-0-64-1 is what figures looked like at the end of the spell for Varun Chakarvarthy on Thursday after the India vs England semifinal. It is not too often the mystery spinner has had to deal with days like that in his T20 career, but the Super 8 stage too has been unkind to him with teams picking up his googlies and depositing them into the stands frequently. Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, analysed Chakaravarthy and said he needs to be more tactical.
“What is happening with Varun is not that teams are attacking him or picking him. Everyone knows that Adil Rashid has a googly. This happens with every cricketer. But if this happens, you have to be tactical. You cannot miss the lengths. Line and length variations with speed variations are important. Varun has to be spoken to,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.
“Every time he gets attacked upfront, the confidence is going down further, because he knows he is catching up. I am tired of saying this again and again. From the last few games, I am saying this. Do not bowl from round the wicket to the left-hander,” he added.
Ashwin, using the example of his own career and how he used to take pauses when the batters were going after him, advised Varun: “I used to bowl a lot of deliveries quickly. But if I feel I wanted a pause, I would take it. This is about awareness. The toughest thing is about adapting and responding to tough situations. Every day will not be good and bad days will keep coming. This blip is new to Varun. So those who are around him, what conversations they have are also critical. It isn’t just about taking time too, you have to see what delivery you want to bowl. This is a very valuable lesson for him. Till now, he has relied on people not picking him. From now on, he has to rely on the finer aspects of spin bowling. This is a challenge and a journey,” he explained.
“Can Kuldeep come in for Varun? I think they will think about it, but it won’t happen. They might think a lot about this. But I hope it does not happen, and I don’t think so too,” he said.
