Varun Chakravarthy has impressed fans and cricket experts alike with his performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and in his debut series against Sri Lanka last month. He is now in the reckoning for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad that will be played from 17 October in UAE and Oman.
In IPL 2020, the mystery spinner scalped 17 wickets in 13 matches which included a five-wicket haul. In the three T20Is that the architect-turned cricketer has played, he has scalped two wickets but bowled with an impressive economy rate of 5.3 runs per over.
Indian cricketer and Varun's Kolkata Knight Riders' teammate Dinesh Karthik has seen the spinner through close quarters in domestic cricket said that Chakravarthy could be the X-factor for team India in the T20 World Cup.
“My choice is a guy called Varun Chakravarthy. I feel he’s got something really special in him. If India goes all the way, I can promise you this boy that I’m speaking about will have played a major role in them moving forward in this tournament. Remember the name 'Varun Chakravarthy', Mr. Daren Sammy,” Karthik stated in a chat with Daren Sammy on ICC’s official website.
Karthik also predicted the two finalists of the tournament, saying it would be India and West Indies. He, however, refused to predict the champions.
“I’m not going to go all the way to who is going to win but I’ll tell you this, I’d love to see an India vs West Indies Final. My second favorite team after India would definitely be West Indies, only for the flair of cricket that they play. I think in this format, they love it, it brings out the best in them and I would love to see the West Indies in the final,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.
