New Chandigarh, Dec 11 (IANS) Ahead of the second T20I against South Africa, India spinner Varun Chakaravarthy said he would describe himself as a leg-spinner rather than being called an off-spinner or mystery spinner due to him bowling more leg-breaks of late.
“I would call myself a leg spinner, but because I’m bowling, I’ve started bowling more leggies nowadays, so leg spinner. But I’m more of a carrom ball bowler and off spinner as well,” said Chakaravarthy in a pre-game chat with the broadcasters at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
In 30 T20Is, Chakaravarthy has picked 47 wickets and established himself as a first-choice spinner in the set-up since October 2024. He spoke about the preparations from his end for the matches.
“Definitely, there’s a lot of planning behind the scenes. I do sit with my video analyst and see what’s happening and the latest match, what the opponents have played in the last five to six matches, what new shots they are trying to play, and just try to keep up on updates on all those things.”
“I do keep seeing a lot of cricket also, so I’m pretty much a little bit updated with whatever’s happening. I actually stick to my strength first. Plan A is always my strength. Plan B is something that batsmen don’t like, so I always start from my strength and then move on to plan B.”
He signed off by saying that playing domestic cricket helps him improve upon any shortcomings in his bowling. “The best thing where I can work is the domestic where the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy happens, and it’s extremely competitive, and I definitely find it very tough to bowl there also. So playing such matches gives me more confidence in how to tackle the international-level players. So that’s the thing – play more matches.”
–IANS
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