Varun Chakravarthy credits domestic cricket, Gambhir for his comeback
What's the story
Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy has credited his successful return to international cricket to the demanding domestic circuit and new head coach Gautam Gambhir's guidance.
The 33-year-old spinner recently registered his career-best figures of 5/17 in the 2nd T20I against South Africa. Despite his stellar performance, India lost by three wickets in Gqeberha.
Chakravarthy opened up about the challenges he faced during a three-year-long hiatus from international cricket.
Domestic grind
Chakravarthy's domestic cricket journey; Gambhir's influence
Chakravarthy admitted the last three years have been tough for him. To get over it, he dived into domestic cricket, especially the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). It helped him understand his game better.
He was also part of Kolkata Knight Riders's IPL-winning side this year. It came under head coach Gambhir, who has now taken over the reins of Team India.
Coach's impact
How Gambhir's guidance helped Chakravarthy
Chakravarthy emphasized the importance of Gambhir in his return during the Bangladesh tour.
He said, "Yes, we played the Bangladesh tour, and he was coaching the team. And definitely, we spoke a lot, and he gave me a lot of role clarity."
This clarity of what he needs to do on the field has been key to Chakravarthy's return to international cricket.
Game plan
Chakravarthy's brilliant spell vs SA
Despite his brilliant spell that reduced South Africa to 66/6 while chasing a modest 125, a solid partnership between Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee saw India lose.
Chakravarthy revealed skipper Suryakumar Yadav asked the team to give their everything without thinking about the result.
He stressed the importance of an aggressive mindset while defending low totals, saying taking wickets is the key to winning.
Feats
Feats attained by Chakravarthy in 2nd T20I
As per ESPNcricinfo, Chakravarthy now owns the joint-best figures for an Indian spinner in T20Is alongside Kuldeep Yadav's 5/17 vs South Africa, 2023. He also owns the joint second-best figures against SA behind Umar Gul's 5/6.
Chakravarthy has become the fifth Indian bowler to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is after Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (twice), Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav (twice).
Information
Second-most T20Is missed between two appearances for India
Earlier this year, Chakravarthy returned to play for India after missing 86 T20Is. As per Cricbuzz, these are the second-most T20Is missed between two appearances for India. He is only behind pacer Khaleel Ahmed (104 matches missed between 2019 and 2024).