Varun Chakravarthy took 18 wickets in the IPL 2021.
Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina feels that mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy will play a crucial role for Team India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, considering the nature of pitches in UAE.
Varun Chakravarthy has risen in the ranks in the last year or so. The mystery spinner displayed a sensational display in the first half of the IPL 2021 which led to him with a place in the national team against Sri Lanka. Even though he took only two wickets in the T20I series, he was the most economical Indian bowler with an economy rate of 5.3.
If this was not enough, Varun Chakravarthy then was one of the mainstays in the bowling department for Kolkata Knight Riders in the second leg of the IPL 2021 and in a total of 17 games, he bagged 18 wickets at an economy rate of just over 6.
Writing in his column for ICC, Suresh Raina said that as per his experience in the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE, it will be very challenging to face mystery spinners and Varun Chakravarthy being one, can be the main guy in Team India's bowling attack in the ICC event.
"My experience in the IPL was that the wickets in UAE and Oman will be very, very challenging when it comes to the mystery spinners. That makes Varun Chakravarthy the main guy in the India bowling attack. He has showed he can exploit the pace of the pitches. Varun has only played three T20Is but I'm not concerned by any lack of experience," Suresh Raina wrote.
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Suresh Raina further said that the Indian pace attack led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar is very experienced and they know how to deal with big games. He added that the inclusion of Shardul Thakur in the squad will strengthen the pace bowling department.
“There is plenty of experience in this team, particularly in the seam attack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar in particular leads the way when it comes to experience and knowledge of how to deal with the big games.
The inclusion of Shardul Thakur can also give extra strength to the fast bowlers that Virat has at his disposal. We have been waiting for this T20 World Cup for a long time. It has been a difficult two years but I think we're about to see something special in the UAE and Oman,” he said.
The Virat Kohli-led side is placed in the Group B of the Super 12s stage. They will kick start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on 24th October in Dubai.
(ANI inputs)