Harbhajan Singh backs Varun Chakravarthy to bounce back after high economy at T20 World Cup

Despite finishing as joint-highest wicket-taker at the T20 World Cup with 14 scalps, India mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy faces some soul-searching ahead of the IPL after his economy rate of 9.25 raised questions, though former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has backed him to return to his best.

Chakravarthy's economy rate was significantly higher than his career average of 7.55, with figures of 10, 16 and 13 in the virtual quarterfinal, semifinal and final respectively drawing attention. The Kolkata Knight Riders spinner acknowledged the conditions were challenging. "These are super batter-friendly wickets, so it was a little challenging for me. But on the other hand, I was able to pick up wickets here and there, which was crucial for my side," Chakravarthy told TOI, adding that the World Cup triumph remained the most memorable moment of his career.

With Kuldeep Yadav waiting in the wings and wrist-spinners Zeeshan Ansari and Ravi Bishnoi also in contention, Chakravarthy will be eager to rediscover his best form as India begin preparations for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Varun Chakravarthy's T20I bowling stats at a glance

Format	Mat	Inn	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBM	Avg	Econ	SR	4W	5W
T20I	39	37	828	1081	71	5/17	15.23	7.83	11.66	1	2

Source: BCCI

Harbhajan, who has 711 international wickets to his name, was quick to vouch for Chakravarthy's quality. "First things first, he is a champion bowler. I first saw him at the Chennai Super Kings nets in 2018 where he was a practice bowler. I told the CSK management to pick him straight away because even then he was often unplayable in the nets," Harbhajan told TOI.

The former India spinner identified the back-foot play by batters as a key factor in Chakravarthy's difficult tournament. "Normally, Varun gets batters out for fun when they try shots off the back foot. But in this World Cup he has gone for runs and that might be because he erred slightly in length," Harbhajan said.

While there were suggestions during the tournament that batters were reading Chakravarthy more easily, Harbhajan dismissed the theory. "In modern-day cricket there are no mysteries. When it comes to top players, people often know what the next ball will be. Everyone knew Dale Steyn's best delivery was the outswinger, but did that make him easy to face? It's a battle of execution between the batter and the bowler. If the bowler gets it right, he will be successful," he said.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had pointed out during commentary that when put under pressure, Chakravarthy tended to bowl too fast, making him resemble a medium-pacer. Harbhajan drew a parallel with a phase in Anil Kumble's career when something similar occurred, noting that the legendary leg-spinner overcame it through mental strength and unerring accuracy. "Anil bhai's height allowed him to extract bounce, and his biggest plus was that he could bowl all day at the same spot. That's a rare quality. Varun can certainly refer to the Kumble playbook," Harbhajan said, suggesting that practising with a single stump could help sharpen Chakravarthy's accuracy, a drill he credited for improving his own bowling.

Harbhajan also urged Chakravarthy to develop a delivery that moves away from right-handers to complement his googly. "Variation is important. If he gets that delivery right, batters won't be able to premeditate against him. Varun will get some time now and can try these things in the IPL. I know he is mentally strong and I have full faith that he will continue to play a key role in India's quest for more T20 success," Bhajji said.

(With inputs from TOI)