Even while his teammates still view Varun Chakravarthy as the “X-factor,” the mystery appears to have been solved, and the leg-spinner is aware that he is running out of time to stop what has been an incredible decline.
If the team management decides to stick with the world’s top ranked bowler, he will be a weakness for India going into Sunday’s T20 World Cup final against New Zealand.
It is impossible to ignore the consistent decline in his performance since the Super Eight stage of the competition, and Chakravarthy would need to dispel his worries after being humiliated throughout the tournament’s final stages.
The final straw may have been the battering he endured on Thursday night during India’s slim seven-run victory at the hands of England swashbuckler Jacob Bethell.
India vice-captain Axar Patel has recently spoken with Chakravarthy and emphasized the value of adhering to plans even when things are not going as planned.
“We have talked about it (about Chakravarthy’s ongoing issues), we have played a lot of knockout games at this moment, so it is very important to have a mindset, yes, there is skill and all, but what we talk to them is, when you go for runs, don’t change your plan even if the batter is targetting,” Axar said on Thursday.
“You have a plan to put it in the stumps first, and then suddenly you change the line. Yes there could be mistakes in the pressure situations, we keep telling him, yes, you are the X Factor, trust yourself, and when it comes to the ball, it is all about confidence.”
Before the semifinal, the mystery spinner worked hard at the nets, but after being used in the powerplay, he struggled to find his lengths. On a blistering surface, he finished as the most expensive of the five front-line bowlers with forgettable figures of 64/1 in four overs.
England had done their homework against Chakravarthy, and the left-handed Bethell hit him for three sixes in his opening innings, preventing him from establishing any kind of rhythm. Chakravarthy, who had been bowling either short or too full for the previous two weeks, was dragged over long-on for a six on his first ball.
The next ball was sent down the ground by the highly rated English batsman, despite the 34-year-old’s predictable attempt to bowl fuller. The bowler’s confidence was further damaged by the third and most stunning smash, which was a reverse hit over backward point.
In a high-scoring match, Bethell eventually smashed Chakravarthy for 42 runs off only 13 balls on his way to a memorable century that was unable to lead England to victory. Chakaravarthy was unable to contain the batters each time he was reintroduced into the attack after his first over went for 23 runs.
“If you look at it, even after being hit for a few sixes, he got the wicket of Jos Buttler. He is the number one T20 bowler, he knows what he is doing. It is a matter of mindset. We have one more match, maybe he will give a match-winning performance in the final,” asserted Axar.
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh believes Chakravarthy is bowling far too quickly.
“He is a match-winner but any bowler would be under pressure after being attacked from the get go. Besides the higher speeds, he is not able to find the right length. It is either too short or too full.
“Targetting the stumps is his strength but at times, he has deviated from that stock strategy and gone wide. He is under pressure. All he can do is go back to the nets and put in the effort,” Harbhajan told PTI after the game at Wankhede.
The most difficult thing for a bowler in the harsh T20 format is to stay true to his ideas in the face of intense pressure. Chakravarthy’s ambitions were thwarted by Bethell on Thursday and he will face a formidable test on Sunday night given the catastrophic impact of the New Zealand openers.
