Former Indian fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji has made a bold statement on Varun Chakravarthy ahead of the huge T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal against England on March 5 in Mumbai.
Varun Chakravarthy has so far taken 12 wickets in 7 matches at a decent average of 15.33 and an economy rate of 7.66. However, these numbers look good, but in the last few matches, the Indian spinner has given away so many runs, including 40 runs against the West Indies in the Super 8 game.
Lakshmipathy Balaji drops big statement on Varun Chakravarthy
Ahead of the India vs England semifinal clash, Lakshmipathy Balaji said that the teams have now understood how to play Varun Chakravarthy. Batters are waiting for his googly and attacking him in front of the wicket or playing him from the backfoot.
The commentator slammed the spinner for depending too much on the “googly,” as it should be a surprise ball, not a regular one. He suggested the spinner avoid bowling the googly a lot and lauded the team management for giving him a cushion by bringing him on after the power play.
Varun Chakravarthy is getting defensive with the googly: Balaji
Balaji said on “Cric It with Badri”: “Varun Chakravarthy has been a go-to bowler. But since the South Africa game, they opened the book on how to play Varun. They handled him very well, targeting him in front of the wicket and waiting and playing on the back foot.
People are analyzing his bowling and pattern of shot-making against him. So, he has to be a little proactive. I think his leg-cutter is missing. He is getting defensive with the googly. It should be a surprise delivery. He should bowl slower.”
He suggested Varun should bowl slower through the air, bowl a little fuller instead of short, and bring back his leg-cutter. The former pacer further explained, “Yes, dew makes it difficult no matter how much you practice.”
“But his lengths have been short. He can bowl a bit more fully to give himself more chances of trying to make the batters commit a mistake. Probably he should show more confidence in the leg-cutter and bowl slower through the air.”
Balaji feels sorry for Kuldeep Yadav, but still backs Varun
The cricket pandit felt sorry for Kuldeep Yadav as he is not getting chances in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, but stressed that he won’t drop Varun from the playing XI despite his expensive bowling.
Balaji further noted, “Unfortunately, there is no place for Kuldeep. Who will you drop for him? I would love to have him, but there is no place. I cannot drop Varun for him. He has been a key. Even though he has gone for runs, I will definitely back Varun. Wankhede is a tough place for spinners with short boundaries.”
He believes that the inconsistency is hurting the batting, as only one batter is scoring big runs for India in the ongoing tournament. Balaji signed off by saying, “Consistency in batting is an issue. Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav. There are some concerns in that top 4.”
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