Former India left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan hailed leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy as an all-phase bowler after his impressive performance in the five-match T20I series against England. Zaheer described Chakravarthy as an all-phase bowler, who is always going to be a big threat in the middle overs.
India hammered England by 150 runs in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2. Batting first, India posted 247-9 on the board on the back of Abhishek Sharma’s century. In the chase, England were bowled out for 97 as Mohammed Shami claimed three wickets, while Chakravarthy, Abhishek and Shivam Dube picked up two scalps each.
Chakravarthy was named Player of the Series for claiming 14 wickets at an average of 9.86 and an economy rate of 7.67. Praising the leg spinner, Zaheer told Cricbuzz that Chakravarthy 2.0 is a much improved all-round bowler. He said:
Zaheer stated that Chakravarthy’s confidence has also taken a leap due to the fact that he has been among the wickets constantly. He urged the bowler to build on the great comeback. The 46-year-old stated:
Since making a comeback to the T20I side in October 2024, Chakravarthy has picked up 33 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 11.25, with two five-fers.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan admitted that Chakravarthy was one of the major reasons why India dominated the T20I series. He lamented that England just could not find a way to play him. He told Cricbuzz:
While Chakravarthy claimed 14 wickets, Axar Patel picked up six in five matches at an average of 16.50. The other leg spinner in the Indian side, Ravi Bishnoi, claimed five scalps at an average of 26.40.
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