Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh feels spinners hold the key to success for India in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE. India have several quality spinners in Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Rahul Chahar. But Harbhajan feels mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is a must for India going ahead.
After a successful debut in the Indian Premier League, Varun Chakravarthy earned a national call-up for the tour of Australia but got injured before boarding the flight. He, then, was selected for the T20I series against England but fitness issues kept him at bay.
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However, his chance finally came during India’s ongoing tour of Sri Lanka. He made his international debut in the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka and bowled brilliantly. Bhajji is impressed with his skills and feels he will be a wonderful addition to the team.
“I feel that is T20 World Cup material because he has all types of qualities. He can take wickets, stop runs, bowl in the Powerplay and can even bowl in the death overs. His only shortcoming is that he remains way too nervous. I spent some time with him in KKR. He himself doesn’t know what he is capable of,” Harbhajan told Sports Tak.
He recalled a past instance when Chakravarthy troubled former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni while bowling in the nets. Bhajji sensed at that moment that Varun Chakravarthy will one day play for India.
“The first time I had seen him was during a net session with Chennai Super Kings. MS Dhoni was hitting the rest of the fast bowlers and spinners for sixes but when Varun Chakravarthy was bowling, he had Dhoni in all sorts of trouble and dismissed him several times,” he recalled.
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“And no one was able to hit him in the nets. That’s when I had predicted that this guy is going to play for India. He has a bit of nervous energy but the more he plays, the better he is going to get.
“Give him some time and I still believe that if India have to do well at the T20 World Cup, the spinners have to do well. Varun Chakravarthy should be a must for India. He has everything you need in a spinner. If he needs to bring about an improvement, he should focus more on what he needs to do on the field. With time, he is going to get better and take lots of wickets for India,” Bhajji concluded.
The T20 World Cup will be played in the UAE, where the pitches support spin bowlers. The multi-nation tournament will commence on October 17 with the final is scheduled to take place on November 14.
