Harbhajan Singh had first seen Varun Chakravarthy in the net-session of CSK.
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh believes India's performance in the upcoming T20 World Cup would highly depend on their spinners. India have Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, and Kuldeep Yadav among the top contenders to be in the squad, but Harbhajan feels Varun Chakravarthy should make the cut.
The mystery spinner has been impressive in the Indian Premier League, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders. Harbhajan wants Chakravarthy to play in the T20 World Cup for his qualities which can help India a lot in UAE.
"I feel that is T20 World Cup material because he has all types of qualities. He can take wickets, stop runs, bowl in the Powerplay, and can even bowl in the death overs. His only shortcoming is that he remains way too nervous. I spent some time with him in KKR. He himself doesn't know what he is capable of," Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
The 41-year-old recalled the net session when Charavarthy troubled the Chennai Super Kings captain, MS Dhoni. Harbhajan said he realized the mystery spinner would go on to play for India one day.
"The first time I had seen him was during a net session with Chennai Super Kings. MS Dhoni was hitting the rest of the fast bowlers and spinners for sixes but when Chakravarthy was bowling, he had Dhoni in all sorts of trouble and dismissed him several times. And no one was able to hit him in the nets. That's when I had predicted that this guy is going to play for India. He has a bit of nervous energy but the more he plays, the better he is going to get," Harbhajan pointed out.
"Give him some time and I still believe that if India have to do well at the T20 World Cup, the spinners have to do well. Varun Chakravarthy should be a must for India. He has everything you need in a spinner. If he needs to bring about an improvement, he should focus more on what he needs to do on the field. With time, he is going to get better and take lots of wickets for India."
(With Sports Tak Inputs)