Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming said that there is still regret on missing out on spinner Varun Chakaravarthy in the IPL auctions a few years ago. Chakaravarthy had served as CSK’s net bowler for a few years and during his stint there, he troubled the CSK batters including skipper MS Dhoni.
He was picked up by Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab) for Rs 8.4 crore at the IPL 2019 auction before KKR bought him for Rs 4 crore in IPL 2020 and have retained him since.
A mystery spinner by trade, Varun found success with KKR in 2020 picking up 17 wickets in 13 matches. The spinner has been an exciting player to watch in the IPL 2023 season. This season, Varun has taken 19 wickets for KKR, which is his best performance since he began competing in the IPL.
Playing his first IPL game at the Chepauk, The Tamil Nadu off-spinner played a vital role in Kolkata Knight Rider’s six-wicket win over CSK on Sunday.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming spoke about the spinner and said that missing out on the Tamil Nadu player still hurt.
“It still hurts us (missing out on Varun). He tortured us in the nets for a number of years. Just with the auctions, the way it is, we couldn’t retain him. The thing is with Tamil Nadu players all round in different teams, they knew about him as well. We were unable to keep him a secret,” Fleming said at the post-match press conference.
“We were very excited by him as a talent when he bowled against us in the nets. And we would have loved him for a big price this year. He bowled very well today, he’s a weapon,” he added.
KKR chased down the 145-run target easily in Chennai despite losing three early wickets. Half-centuries from captain Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh were enough for the visitors to win by 6 wickets and stay alive in the race for playoffs.
“I don’t think we got the conditions right, last game turned out to be considerably tough to bat. This one actually had a spongy bounce to start and then pretty much lost a bit of sting as the game went on. Pretty difficult to try and work out what the surfaces are going to do with the dew. I said the whole way through, we’re still learning these new conditions,” Fleming added.
The New Zealander said they are still trying to understand the conditions at the Chepauk, which are different from how they were in 2019.
“I stress that it’s not the same as what we left (in 2019). We’ve worked hard to try and understand, we’re still trying to understand. So, everything that’s happened in the past is pretty much irrelevant as we get to know it and try to drive it a little bit differently.
There have been scores well over 200 as well as scores of 145, so there’s been quite a bit of variance,” he added.
CSK will next play Delhi Capitals in Delhi and a win there will ensure them of a playoffs spot.
(PTI inputs)
