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Chakravarthy, who helped India seal a big win over NZ to propel the side to the semis, clarified Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s comments on him sticking to minimum variations in the nets, stating that he paces himself differently depending on the format in question.
India’s Varun Chakravarthy bowls a delivery during the ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between India and New Zealand at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri )
Team India cruised into the semifinal of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 with an emphatic win over New Zealand as the men in blue topped their group to line up a mouthwatering knock out clash against Australia.
Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who played wrecker-in-chief against the Kiwis with a five-wicket haul, opened up on his bond with former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who both hail from the same city. The duo also play alongside one another in the TNPL with Dindigul Dragons, and the 33-year-old revealed that he enjoys his conversations with the spin great from Chennai.
‘Yes, I’ve spoken to Ashwin during our TNPL times. I play for his team,” Chakravarth remarked at the press conference ahead of the semifinal clash in the UAE.
“I do have some conversations with him at those times. And yeah, he’s been a well-wisher for me,” he added.
Chakravarthy also went on to clarify Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s comments on him sticking to minimum variations in the nets, stating that he paces himself differently depending on the format in question.
“In T20, I build my over differently. The way of sequencing different balls is different,” the Indian turner added.
“And in ODI, it is different. So that’s why they don’t feel that I don’t bowl all the variations, but I do bowl all the variations,” he explained.
Chakravarthy’s second coming to the national side has proved to be a fruitful one as the spinner banished ghosts of his first stint with the Indian team during the ICC T2OI World Cup in 2021 where he had to endure a tough outing.
The spinner shared that teammates helped him calm his nerves during the game against NZ as he went on to register the landmark bowling figure to catapult India into the final-four fixture.
“The first spell of mine, I was a little nervous because the previous things, the emotions, and all were playing whatever happened in the last three years before in this ground, it was playing on my mind a bit and I was trying to keep it down, control it.” he reflected.
“But Virat bhai, Rohit and even Hardik, they were telling calm down, calm down. They were coming and talking to me. That really helped,” the spinner concluded.