Varun Chakaravarthy (Getty Images)
MUMBAI: Wednesday’s curling session was optional, but Varun Chakravarthy was there, along with bowling coach Morne Morkel, to take it out in the scorching heat.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!The focus throughout the session, and during the huge session India put on on Tuesday evening, was on the length he needed to bat against England in the semi-final at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
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Varun started the T20 World Cup campaign with a bang, finishing the four-match group stage with nine wickets at a strike rate of 8. But in the Super Eights, while bowling against stronger opponents, he was found to be somewhat vulnerable.
In the three matches, he took just two wickets at a strike rate of 24 and conceded 10.16 runs per over, much higher than his career economy rate of 7.23. He finished with figures of 1/47 against South Africa, 1/35 against Zimbabwe, and 1/40 against West Indies.Against South Africa, David Miller, Dewald Preves and Tristan Stubbs showed courage to confront the mysterious puck. As a result, he erred in his line and length – bowling a bit too short or too full when under pressure – causing him to enter the batsmen’s arc to hit it down the ground or either side of the wicket.
The story was repeated against the West Indies in the last match at Eden Gardens, as Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder chased down the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner.
When batsmen attacked him, they reduced his ability to apply pressure in the middle and take wickets to keep opponents on the mat.
Varun remains among the top five wicket-takers in this edition with 12 scalps, but teams seem to have dissected his differences, especially the googly, which has been his preferred wicket-taking delivery.
Nearly 75% of his wickets in T20Is have come with a googly. When he bowled fast, opposing batters played him as a fielder and tried to hit him straight. When he has one to get away from, hitters step back and adjust.With the likes of Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks in their ranks, England will benefit from Varun’s outings against South Africa and West Indies, taking advantage of shorter boundaries and putting the 34-year-old under pressure.During the media interaction, Morkel revealed that discussions with Varone centered around “clarifying” his plans the day before the match and “letting him go feeling good about his body”.“With the differences that Varun has, he has the ability to take wickets with almost every ball. So, the discussion was that if he goes to the boundary, the goal is to go to the next ball and make sure he sticks to the next ball. It’s difficult to pick him once you get into the crease. So, for him it’s just about getting that confidence on the ball, getting his speed, length and control right,” Morkel said.