Varun Chakaravarthy also explained his preparation for Asia Cup 2025.
Since returning to Team India in 2024 after three years in the wilderness, Varun Chakaravarthy has been on fire. After his lackluster performance for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup, in which he went wicketless in three games, he once considered quitting cricket.
He took six wickets during the IPL 2022, adding to his suffering. Varun, however, handled things calmly and put a lot of effort into changing who he was. He returned to the Indian squad in 2024 and is currently the Men in Blue's first-choice spinner. He shared the most wickets taken in India's 2025 ICC Champions Trophy victory.
Suryakumar Yadav has supported Varun Chakaravarthy wholeheartedly ever since he was appointed captain of the Indian T20I team. Chakaravarthy took five wickets in three T20Is against Bangladesh on his comeback and then dominated South Africa with 12 wickets at an amazing strike rate of 8.00.
“Yes, Surya (Kumar Yadav) and Gautam (Gambhir), I feel, have played big roles in my comeback because they wanted me. Surya told me before the Bangladesh tour that “I’m looking at you; let’s see how the other things go, but I’m keen on having you in the team setup,” said Chakaravarthy while speaking to RevSportz.
“About Surya, he is someone very similar to Rohit [Sharma]—that’s what I’ve seen. He is very tactically sound, and maybe his time at MI (Mumbai Indians) has given him good exposure to great captains. He is a very good guy and never puts pressure on the bowlers. It would be a bowler’s delight to have a captain like him,” he added.
In addition to Suryakumar, Varun gave India's coach Gautam Gambhir credit for believing in him and supporting him. He disclosed that Gautam Gambhir instills a warrior mindset in the locker room. Gambhir, who has always been a team player, has given the players' mental health more attention.
“Similarly, Gauti Bhai has also helped me a lot in my comeback, the way he motivates me. Even if we talk a little, he has always given me good confidence, and he’s always said that “No matter who’s going to ignore you, I will keep you in my plans for now.” So, that kind of gave me confidence. And if you ask about Gauti Bhai as a mentor, then I would say he brings in a warrior mindset in the dressing room, which is very important and has worked for us at KKR and in the Champion Trophy,” Varun said.
“We even got to see that in the recently concluded England vs. India Test series. He brings energy to the dressing room, which is very important. Around him, I always feel there is no mediocrity. You give everything you have, and it doesn’t matter whether you win or you lose,” he added.
Varun also talked about his preparation during the one-month break; he has gotten ahead of the Asia Cup 2025.
"The Asia Cup is coming up, and for the white-ball players, they have got a good break after the IPL. I did play TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League), but I still have a one-month break right now. It has been a good time to work on my strength and conditioning, fitness, bowling, batting, and everything. I got time to rejuvenate my entire self holistically. Feeling better because I got a lot of time to spend with my kid, my wife, and my parents. Yes, I think I have put in the hard yards. Now, the rest is up to the bigger force," he said.
"One factor out of those is the ground conditions, and I hope they favor us. On the other hand, in IPL, you may have seen that the factors and conditions do not help the bowlers much. So, I am also used to bowling in such conditions. Hence, I am ready for both, but I am very eager to see how the pitches are at this point of the year in the UAE," he added.
(RevSportz inputs)