Varun Chakaravarthy of India celebrating the wicket of Phil Salt of England during the 2nd ODI match between India and England held at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, India on the 9th February 2025. (Sportzpics)Is India’s answer to the Jasprit Bumrah puzzle for the Champions Trophy a slow bowler? Someone with similarly unusual quirks at the crease and not born out of the typical bowling manual.
Varun Chakaravarthy’s ODI debut at 33 in the second ODI against England at the Barabati Stadium was not entirely about the wickets column but more of the white-ball secret sauce that is yet to be completely demystified and diluted by oppositions. In Bumrah’s absence, it seems to be an enticing prospect for the team management, who drafted the Tamil Nadu tweaker into the 50-over side after his brilliant T20I series against the visitors last month, where he snapped 14 wickets in 5 outings.
A debut seemed far-fetched for Chakaravarthy with India’s likely first-choice combination yet to hit the field, 11 days out from their Champions Trophy opener in Dubai. But with three days still in the bank to announce any last-minute tweaks to the provisionally announced 15-member squad, Chakaravarthy’s inclusion on Sunday meant that there could still be room for a late twist to the Indian roster, more so if Bumrah’s recovery takes time.
#VarunChakaravarthy strikes on debut! 🎯🔥#TeamIndia gets a crucial breakthrough as Salt departs after a strong opening stand!
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— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 9, 2025
It could be compelling for India to ponder a move for Chakaravarthy as the seam attack continues to wear an inconsistent look, and the imminently better bet would be to shore up the spin stocks behind Ravindra Jadeja. Chakaravarthy’s addition came at the expense of the team’s lead wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is working his own way back into the squad after a brief injury lay-off.
The one-dimensional seam attack’s profligacy was laid bare when Mohammad Shami, Harshit Rana and Hardik Pandya fed England openers Ben Duckett and Phil Salt boundless room to cut and pull in the first powerplay. Much of the first 10 overs’ action occurred square of the wicket as Shami struggled to temper his angles to the left-handed Duckett. A regulation catching opportunity that Axar Patel let slip off at deep backward point in the sixth over off Pandya’s bowling, forced the seamer down to his haunches after a frustrating start.
With Rana playing two games ahead of the Dubai-bound Arshdeep Singh, one can assume that head coach Gautam Gambhir and Co have taken the series to prepare for all scenarios they currently visualise without Bumrah. However, Rana’s natural affinity for shorter lengths has forced India to summon the first-change bowler quite early within the first powerplay in both games.
As the seam trio failed to attack the stumps or attempt fuller deliveries to the England openers automatically aligned to wield their cross-batted strokes, Chakaravarthy’s injection in the ninth over briefly helped India plug the haemorrhage.
That England have been iffy in their plans against him throughout this tour was best summed up by Chakaravarthy’s 11th delivery. The mystery man stuck to conventions this time with a flighted leg break that offered Salt a minimal margin for error with the heave across the line miscued to Jadeja at mid-on. A cracking follow-up to Joe Root nearly packed the England No. 3 first ball, but the sharp-spinning googly had turned way down the leg-side after rapping the pads.
Save for a slot delivery outside the off-stump that Harry Brook magnificently carted over extra-cover for a maximum, Chakaravarthy’s first spell of six overs conceding 26 had the Bazballers wound to the crease, suppressing their wonts before 17 dots and a solitary release shot.
While his eventual figures (1/54) did not vouch for a wholesome read, India captain Rohit Sharma entrusted him with two overs at the death alongside Jadeja, the two being the only bowlers to complete their quota of 10 overs between the reckless spells of the pace contingent.
With veteran Shami yet to regain full steam, Rana blowing hot and cold, Kuldeep yet to add enough overs under his belt and India tight-lipped on the Bumrah situation, Chakaravarthy’s six-over spell teased a little spark before the Champions Trophy’s final squad deadline day falling in three days on February 12.
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