Varun Chakravarthy of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was named Player of the Match for his frugal numbers of 1/20 as his team defeated SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) by five runs on Thursday, May 4.
In the last over of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, Chakravarthy had just nine runs to defend. He did a terrific job, giving only three runs and dismissing Abdul Samad.
Chakravarthy’s fortunes have shifted dramatically in the previous several years. Following a great IPL 2021 season, he was selected for the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. The Tamil Nadu bowler, on the other hand, had a disappointing World Cup campaign, going wicketless in three matches and looking quite ordinary.
Following good performances in the IPL 2023, he appears to be in fantastic bowling shape.
On that topic, we look at three ways Chakravarthy has progressed since the T20 World Cup in 2021.
1) Varun Chakravarthy is a lot more accurate
Most leg spinners are not renowned to be precise since it is a tough technique to perfect. Accuracy has not always been Chakravarthy’s strong suit. However, he has been outstanding in the IPL season with his consistency in line and length, so much so that KKR skipper Nitish Rana chose him over a pacer to bowl the last over against SRH.
Looking back at his IPL performance from the previous year, he had an economy rate of 8.51. Chakravarthy has performed far better this season, keeping an economy rate of under 8.
2) He has worked on his revolutions
Aside from accuracy, Chakravarthy has focused on his revolutions, which has undoubtedly increased his lethality. His bowling wasn’t good last IPL season, with only six wickets in 11 games, averaging 55.33 and a 39 strike rate.
While speaking to the media on the progress of his revolutions, Chakravarthy stated:
“Another aspect I was working on was revolutions on the ball. I was working with AC Prathiban. He’s my spin coach back in Chennai, so it definitely worked.”
In his most recent press conference following Thursday’s performance, he gave additional insight on what has changed in his game technically. The bowler further explained:
“Last year, I was bowling around 85 kph. Somewhere I had lost my speed. So I went back, tried many things, and realized that once my revolutions go down, my speed automatically goes down. So I started working on my revs, and it helped.”
Without question, better revolutions appear to be achieving far better outcomes for Chakravarthy.
3) He looks a lot more confident
When the leg-spinner struggled to create an impact during the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, he appeared to be lacking confidence. His approach was low, and he never threatened to take a wicket. It’s not unexpected that he came up empty in the wickets column.
Chakravarthy did take a few wickets in the IPL 2022, but he lacked confidence and positive body language. This season, he has appeared more forceful, which has helped him deliver the goods.