Forty nine wickets from 24 bowling innings since a comeback in India colours last year reflect the kind of expertise Varun Chakravarthy holds in T20I cricket. In a format which is merciless and unforgiving for bowlers on most occasions, such numbers are certainly no mean feat.

Besides, his economy rate in these matches reads a pretty impressive 6.95, which also proves he's just as good in restricting the flow of runs alongside taking wickets and becoming the second fastest Indian to 50 T20I wickets.

No doubt, the spinner, returning to the India fold in October 2024, has been one of the key factors behind India's consistent run in T20I cricket during the period post their victorious T20 World Cup campaign. As India get down to defending their Cup crown at home coming February and March, Varun's role could be as important as that of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav for his ability to strike in any situation and turn the game on its head.

For a good part of 2025, including in the ongoing series against South Africa, where India are leading 2-1, Varun has been seen bringing the stumps more into play, mixing a bit of leg-spin in between. "In conditions seen so far in this South Africa series, the pitches seemed more on the harder side and quite good for strokeplay.

"So, on such wickets, he focuses on the stumps. As for the leg-spin, he bowls it only if he feels the pitch to be conducive for it," Varun's coach, AC Prathiban, told The Telegraph from Chennai on Monday.

In the Asia Cup, he had mixed it up well on the slow, sluggish Dubai tracks. Against the Proteas, with six wickets from the three matches so far, the 34-year-old's googlies in particular have rendered the opposition batters almost clueless. In the 11 overs that Varun has sent down from these three T20Is, he has given away only 59 runs, which proves the kind of control he bowled with.

Being a left-hander, limited-overs specialist Quinton de Kock too hasn't had a great time against Varun. Even en route to his 46-ball 90 in the second T20I in Mullanpur last week, which the Proteas won, he couldn't quite put Varun away even when making merry against the other Indian bowlers.

What helps Varun quite a lot, especially against the right-handed batters, is his past-vertical release point, Prathiban pointed out. A past-vertical release point, in cricket, happens when a bowler releases the ball after his/her bowling arm has passed the point of being completely straight up and is beginning to drop towards the batsman.

While such a release point varies the pace, it can also influence the angle of the ball, leading to natural inward movement into a right-hander on most occasions. "He always used to bowl with the past-vertical release point," Prathiban, a former off-spinner who's currently the bowling coach of UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League, stated.

"He has gradually made that his strength. With such a release point, the deviation on most occasions is inward when it comes to right-handed batsmen. On top of that, he gets his length right, which makes it tougher for the batters."

This natural inward deviation with the right length should benefit Varun, especially on belters which India may come across in next year's T20 showpiece. Before the World Cup, though, his focus will be on keeping things as simple as possible instead of looking to add more to his armoury.

"We had worked primarily on overspin in the recent times. Otherwise, it's just about strengthening his current set of variations and laying extra emphasis on accuracy instead of trying to add further new kinds of deliveries," Prathiban said.

"At present, Varun is more concerned about the matches ahead — the remaining games against South Africa and the five T20Is against New Zealand next month. There's still some time left for the World Cup."