Ravichandran Ashwin Applauds Rohit and Gautam for Backing Varun Chakravarthy vs New Zealand

Ravichandran Ashwin has praised the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir for the phenomenal decision of playing Varun Chakravarthy against New Zealand, which, according to the off-spinner, was one of the factors that led to India’s 44-run victory. Varun’s five-wicket haul in the match not only helped winning the match but also raised the morale of the team.

Ashwin believes that Varun is setting the tone very well for the India-Australia semi-final on March 4. The off-spinner’s statements established Varun’s contribution to the team going ahead with the victory.

India will attempt to carry forward this momentum into the semi-final and cement their place in the final of the Champions Trophy. His selection was nothing less than a masterstroke, and his contribution will be heavily relied upon in the next matches.

“India wonderfully cut down his scoring options”- Ravichandran Ashwin

Thus, speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin has praised both Rohit and Gambhir for reading the Dubai pitch perfectly and for replacing Harshit Rana with Chakravarthy-a decision that left most fans perplexed at the time. But the mystery spinner proved his mettle, wreaking havoc on the New Zealand batting order and bagging the Player of the Match award. This move, as Ashwin said, worked superbly against that one batter, Daryl Mitchell, who found it nearly impossible to counter the variance produced by Varun.

“I have to say this: top-class scouting, top-class analysis for Varun Chakravarthy against Daryl Mitchell. He was not allowed to step out. He did not read the turn, and he was not able to step down. India wonderfully cut down his scoring options, having fielders to cut down his sweeps and reverse sweeps,” Ashwin said.

“I don’t think playing Varun is a risk. I think they are not able to read him at all. He is not beating batters on the outside edge, and that’s why I am not able to understand why they are not able to decipher him. What is setting him apart? It’s the amount of revs that is allowing the ball to drop. Not dropping at 89 kph; it’s dropping at high 90s. It’s unbelievable skill,” Ashwin added.