Varun Chakravarthy perhaps never envisaged that there would be such a dramatic and sudden turnaround in his fortunes in a fortnight.
The most feared mystery spinner in international cricket is now the most hunted — in his 16 overs since the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup, he has given away 186 runs at an economy of 11.6.
Yet he remains the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament at 13 scalps with three other players.
If Abhishek Sharma’s lean phase (89 in seven matches) with the bat wasn’t bad enough, Varun’s inability to stem the flow of runs has put the support staff under scrutiny. Varun was the most expensive among the bowlers in Thursday’s semi-final, going for 64 runs in his four overs.
The way Jacob Bethell smashed his first three balls for consecutive sixes is sure to serve as a cue to the likes of Finn Allen and Tim Seifert ahead of Sunday’s final.
Bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate had an extensive session with Varun ahead of the semi-final, working on his process and spot bowling.
“He enjoys single-wicket practice sessions... The conversations we’ve had have been about clarity and walking away feeling good about his bowling,” Morkel had said before the semi-final.
“Obviously, I can’t reveal his process, but I keep telling him that with the skill and variation that he has, he’s got the ability to take a wicket almost every ball. So, if he goes for a boundary, he’s not executed to the best of his ability,” said Morkel. “He’s a match-winner for us, for him it’s all about making sure every delivery is his best ball.”
Axar Patel on Thursday said the think-tank has stressed Varun’s mental well-being. “We have talked about it,” Axar said. “We have played a lot of knockout games and in these moments, mindset becomes very important. Yes, there is skill and all, but when you go for runs, don’t change your plan even if the batter is targeting you.”
The team is making sure Varun stays confident.
“We keep telling him, ‘you are the X-factor, trust yourself.’ When it comes to the ball, it is all about confidence,” Axar said.
Suggestions have been varied, from asking Varun to look for angles since batters have been picking his googly quite easily to taking deliveries away from the righthanders a little more often.
The small boundaries at the Wankhede made his task more difficult. A much bigger Narendra Modi Stadium could suit his style in the final.
Gautam Gambhir is known for not making much changes to the winning combination and the final could be Varun and Abhishek’s chance to turn things around.