Sanjay Manjrekar lauds Varun Chakravarthy's fearless approach in England T20Is
What's the story
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has praised Varun Chakravarthy for his audacious plan in the ongoing T20I series against England.
Although India lost the third match by 26 runs, Chakravarthy picked up a five-wicket haul with figures of 4-0-24-5.
He thus became only the third Indian bowler to have two or more five-wicket hauls in Men's T20Is, after Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Here's more.
Strategy breakdown
Chakravarthy's daring approach yields results
Manjrekar emphasized Chakravarthy's unusual method of inviting batters to hit him, thus forcing them to err.
He detailed the strategy on ESPNcricinfo, saying, "He pitches the ball up and was not afraid to do it today (Tuesday) as well."
Manjrekar added that even after Jamie Smith hit Chakravarthy for a six, the latter stuck to his audacious game plan.
Series performance
Chakravarthy leads as top wicket-taker in series
Notably, Chakravarthy is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 10 wickets from three matches at an economy rate of 7.08.
He took three wickets in the Kolkata T20I and two more at Chepauk.
Meanwhile, in Rajkot, he dismissed Jos Buttler, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer, finishing with 5/24.
Manjrekar praised his bravery saying "As they say fortune favors the brave, he's willing to take that risk."
Post-match reflections
Chakravarthy urges team to focus on upcoming matches
Despite the loss in Rajkot, Chakravarthy urged his teammates to look ahead and focus on the remaining two matches.
He was disappointed over the defeat but stressed on the need to move forward.
"Sad we didn't make it this match, but that's nature of this game. Got to move on and get ready for the next match," he said during a post-match presentation.
Skill enhancement
Chakravarthy takes responsibility, works on improving skills
Chakravarthy also said he was ready to take responsibility for his side.
"When you are playing for the country, you have to take responsibility. I am able to do that to an extent," he said.
He added he has been working on his flipper, a skill that has helped him so far.
"Working on my flipper, it's coming out well... maybe I have bowled well, but I can get better going forward," he concluded.
Stats
Chakravarthy's stellar stats in brief
The spinner who has featured in 16 T20Is has already raced to 29 scalps at an economy rate of 6.84.
Additionally, he now owns two five-wicket hauls in T20Is, while boasting an average of 14.75.
Meanwhile, his best bowling figure reads 5/17 which he recorded against South Africa in 2024.
In 104 T20s, he owns a total of 134 scalps 21.38. He took his 3rd five-wicket haul in T20s.