“It was important to me to not give the batsmen time to react last season, so this time I returned to my quicker trajectory, says Varun.”
Varun Chakravarthy, despite his height, can often go unnoticed, unlike some star players who can stand out among crowds. Like his cricketing career, he can easily fly under the radar despite being in the right place and taking the right actions.
Varun is back to doing what he feels is necessary to reinvent himself in order to stay at the top after an impressive performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, where he picked up 20 wickets to put the ghosts of the previous season behind him.
After only taking six wickets in 11 games during the IPL’s 2022 season, Varun felt the need to reinvent himself during the final season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). He can still clearly recall that season.
The TNPL player Varun, who is currently playing for the Dindigul Dragons team, tells that he won’t characterize the season as forgettable because he learned so much from it. “Last season, I was learning how to bowl leg-spin, which I did this season and got a lot of wickets. If I’m sorry for what happened back then, I won’t be standing here as a better bowler. The 31-year-old claims, “I’m not someone who feels content about something, and I need to keep finding ways to reinvent myself.”
Those who know Varun have always praised his analytical approach to his own game and his lack of panic when things go wrong. He once had aspirations of becoming a wicketkeeper but was consistently turned down at auditions.
He quit cricket and pursued an architecture degree for five years after leaving it behind. He briefly considered becoming a director at one point in his life and even worked as an assistant director for a few days in the Tamil film industry before deciding to return to architecture.
He was working on a site that would sustain significant damage from the Chennai floods in 2017, but he would still find a way to get around it. He accomplished everything while playing tennis-ball cricket, switching from wicket-keeping gloves to a medium-pacer position. However, he would become a mystery spinner due to a knee injury.
“Whether it’s in life or cricket, I’m always looking forward. Although you can learn from the past and draw positive conclusions, it’s always best to look forward. Same as when I’m holding the ball. The subsequent delivery is what matters; I don’t worry about the previous one. And it’s all about being present and acting appropriately for the circumstance, says Varun.”
Varun originally had seven spins, including off-break, leg-break, googly, carrom ball, top-spinner, slider, and flipper. But after the 2022 campaign, when batsmen could get back and cut or hit him over mid-wicket, it seemed as though the puzzle had been solved.
Even spinners, who have an X-factor in the mystery element, can have doubts after such seasons, let alone someone like Varun.
“After that, I was obviously lacking a little confidence, but I can’t afford to keep quiet about it. I was developing a new leg spin variation as far back as the 2022 IPL, but I hadn’t yet put it to use. From that point on, I just concentrated on doing that correctly because, at this level, you need to keep adding something every season, the soft-spoken Varun says.”
The leg-spin he is referring to is one that he throws out of the back of his hand and that has caused the ball to turn much more than it did previously. Even the googly became popular after that release, and Varun regained his mystery in the just-completed IPL.
“In the IPL, you can’t try something new right away, and I realized that more important than the variations is consistency in placing the ball in the proper areas. As a result, you must practice and become accustomed to your routine in order to land in a place consistently. And I spent a lot of time practicing that leg spin, and AC Prathiban deserves credit for helping me get better at it, says Varun.”
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