Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra hailed the performances of Varun Chakravarthy after the conclusion of the five-match T20I series between India and England. India took the series by 4-1 after winning the fifth game at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai by a gargantuan margin of 150 runs on Sunday.
Chakravarthy was the star of the series, who shined bright with every match. The mystery spinner scalped 14 wickets in five games at an average of 9.86 and an economy rate of 7.67.
The 33-year-old bowled at his absolute best and breathed down the neck of the English batters in the middle overs. Chakravarthy was able to flummox the England batters with his variations and used them with guile.
Chopra also hailed the IPL platform, which helped Chakravarthy in making a comeback into the team. The mystery spinner bagged 21 wickets in 14 matches of IPL 2024 and played an instrumental role in taking Kolkata Knight Riders to glory.
“In bowling, you can’t look beyond Varun Chakaravarthy. The job he has done in this entire series, whenever he rolled his arms over, he picked up wickets. The rise and rise of Varun Chakaravarthy is a testament that the guy has the might because comebacks are difficult,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Secondly, it shows the might of the IPL. We deride it at times, a lot of people say that things went bad because of the IPL, but you would have forgotten Varun Chakaravarthy if not for the IPL. So he playing continuously in the IPL, performing well there, improving himself, and then getting a chance here (in T20Is), you feel at home because the pressure is almost similar,” Chopra added.
The reputed commentator said playing in the IPL and International cricket is almost the same.
“The crowd and atmosphere are exactly the same. You also bowl to the same batters. There too you bowl to Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone, and Phil Salt in the nets. So you feel you have done all of this earlier and it’s slightly easier. At least, you feel comfortable. So I am really happy for Varun Chakaravarthy,” Chopra elaborated.
The first ODI between India and England will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on Thursday.
