'Getting Better And Better': Zaheer Khan Praises Versatile Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy picked 14 wickets in five matches at an average of 9.86 and an economy rate of 7.67.
Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan praised Varun Chakravarthy after his dominant performance in the recently concluded T20I series against England. Charavarthy picked 14 wickets in five matches at an average of 9.86 and an economy rate of 7.67. Zaheer was delighted to see the leg-spinner making his presence felt in the home series which India won 4-1. After the last T20I was wrapped up at Wankhede, the legendary fast bowler hailed Chakravarthy as an all-round bowler who appeared to be coming in handy in almost every phase of the innings.
“He’s an all-phase bowler. You just give him the ball in the powerplay. You’ve seen that in the series he has responded well. In the middle phase, he’s always going to be a big threat. All in all, it’s a very good area covered from the Indian bowling point of view," Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
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The 2011 ODI World Cup winner was also impressed by how Chakravarthy announced his comeback to the international arena. “He’s getting better and better. He’s been very accurate in attacking those stumps. There’s a slight bit of drift also, so the variations are also coming into play nicely; the ball is going away from the right-hander as well," Zaheer explained.
“Everything is just falling into place. Wickets are backing the confidence. It’s just about keeping on this track now and continuing to do what has been working for him – almost three wickets per game in this format," he added.
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Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan also felt Chakravarthy had a key role in India dominating the T20I series. “England could not find a method to play both leg spinners, but Varun Chakravarthy has been outstanding. He’s just got the ball on a string. He’s got that ability to spin it just enough either way, but mainly back into the right-hander," the cricketer-turned-pundit told Cricbuzz.
While Chakravarthy was named the Player of the Series, the other Indian bowlers also looked invincible in the fifth and final game. The hosts batted first in Mumbai and set a mammoth target of 248 runs, riding on a 135-run knock by Abhishek Sharma. In response, England were bundled out for 97 runs in 10.3 overs. Mohammed Shami fetched a three-wicket haul while Chakravarthy, Sharma and Shivam Dube each took two.
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