NEWS
Follow UsHaving played six T20Is in 2021 only to be never picked again, Varun Chakravarthy, for the longest time, was sort of the forgotten man of Indian cricket. But the appointment of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach of team India gave a new leash on life for the mystery spinner, who was named in the squad for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.
And on October 6 (Sunday) in Gwalior, Chakravarthy made his much-awaited comeback to the national side after a three-year long wait.
Replacing Ravi Bishnoi in the starting XI, Chakravarthy made the fullest use of the opportunity he’d been given, picking a three-wicket haul for the first time in T20Is. The three-fer included the big wicket of the dangerous Towhid Hridoy, who Chakravarthy dismissed in the first over after the powerplay.
After the game, the 33-year-old admitted that he felt like he’d been reborn. But the mystery further added that it’ll be important for him to stay grounded and not look too far ahead.
"After three long years, it was definitely emotional for me," Chakravarthy said after the game, reported Cricbuzz.
"It feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth. I just want to stick to the process because that's what I've been following in the IPL. I don't want to get ahead of myself; I want to stay in the present, that's why I try not to think too much or express too much."
Chakravarthy revealed that his constant omission from the national team sometimes left him baffled, but he asserted that the snubs also motivated him to get everything together and push really hard to come back into the side.
"Whenever there was a squad that was announced, I used to feel like, 'Why is my name not there?' and I used to keep thinking about that,” the 33-year-old revealed.
“So that kind of brought the motivation within me that I should not leave this. I should go all out and make a comeback, so I started playing a lot of domestic games and giving importance to it. That kind of helped me."
In his own words, Chakravarthy is no longer the bowler he was three years ago. Why? Because he’s completely changed his modus operandi, with the 33-year-old now having turned into an overspin bowler.
"I used to be a side-spin bowler, but right now, I have completely shifted to being an over-spin bowler," he explained.
"It's a minute technical aspect of spin bowling, but it took me more than two years. I gradually tested it in TNPL and IPL. While the mental aspect also had to be worked on, the major chunk of effort I put in was on my technical side."
In the first game, the mystery spinner kept incumbent Bishnoi out of the starting XI. But there is no guarantee that Chakravarthy will keep his place in the starting XI in the games to come, especially with Gambhir being high on rotation.
When there’s heavy rotation, there needs to be good camaraderie in the squad for the atmosphere to be a positive one. Luckily, there seems to be a great vibe in the Indian dressing room currently, with players cheering for and celebrating their compatriots’ success.
"There is good competition and there is good camaraderie also," Chakravarthy said. "And the person who was cheering me was Ravi Bishnoi; he was coming and telling me messages, so I can't ask for more.
“It's actually good to have such competition so that people will keep pushing each other. Someone will be better than others at one point of time and he will definitely get the Cup for India, so that competition is very required."
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