Struggling Varun Chakaravarthy Gets Backing Despite Recent T20 World Cup Failures

Varun Chakaravarthy and Suryakumar Yadav (Source: AFP)

India secured a thrilling seven-run victory over England in the semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. The win sealed India's place in the final, where they will face New Zealand in Ahmedabad on March 8.

While the result was in India's favour, the match also highlighted a growing concern in India's bowling attack, the recent struggles of mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy.

India posted a massive total of 253 runs, thanks largely to a stunning knock from Sanju Samson. The wicketkeeper-batter carried the innings with a brilliant 89 off just 42 balls.

However, defending the huge total was not as comfortable as the scoreboard suggested. England kept fighting until the final overs, putting India's bowlers under pressure.

Varun Chakaravarthy's form slips before T20 World Cup final

Despite the win, Varun Chakaravarthy's performance raised questions ahead of the India vs New Zealand  final. The spinner finished with figures of 1 for 64 in his four overs, one of the most expensive spells in T20 World Cup history. 

His spell became the joint second-most expensive in the tournament's history, equalling the unwanted record of Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who conceded 64 runs against Pakistan in 2007.

Also Read: Varun Chakravarthy: India’s Brahmastra To Crush England In T20 World Cup Semi Final

The worst bowling figures in T20 World Cup history were recorded earlier in the same tournament when USA pacer Saurabh Netravalkar conceded 65 runs against India.

R Ashwin backs struggling Varun Chakaravarthy

Ahead of the final, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin analysed Varun Chakaravarthy’s form on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat’. He suggested that Chakaravarthy needs to become more tactical with his bowling.

Ashwin explained that being attacked by batters is a part of cricket and that every bowler faces such phases. 

According to him, Varun Chakaravarthy must focus on better control over line, length, and pace variations rather than relying only on the difficulty batters face in reading him.

“What is happening with Varun is not that teams are attacking him or picking him. Everyone knows that Adil Rashid has a googly. This happens with every cricketer. But if this happens, you have to be tactical. You cannot miss the lengths. Line and length variations with speed variations are important. Varun has to be spoken to,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

“Every time he gets attacked upfront, the confidence is going down further, because he knows he is catching up. I am tired of saying this again and again. From the last few games, I am saying this. Do not bowl from round the wicket to the left-hander,” he added.

Virender Sehwag also supports Varun Chakaravarthy amid poor form

Former India opener Virender Sehwag also came to Varun Chakaravarthy’s defence and questioned the criticism directed at the spinner. 

Sehwag pointed out that India have continued backing opener Abhishek Sharma despite his poor run in the tournament.

“Even Abhishek Sharma isn’t doing well. So, if you are backing him, what’s the issue with backing a bowler? It is people’s job to criticise. If you are playing a batter who has only one fifty in his last 5-6 innings and if you tell a bowler that you have conceded runs in the last three games, so we are looking for a different bowler, what is the guarantee that the replacement bowler will do well?" Sehwag said while speaking on Cricbuzz.

Abhishek Sharma has scored just 89 runs in seven matches in the tournament, yet he has retained his place in the team. 

Virender Sehwag argued that if a batter can be given time to find form, a bowler should also receive similar backing.

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