LUCKNOW: From the wilderness of being branded a “one-season wonder” after the 2021 T20 World Cup to standing atop the summit of world cricket as the undisputed No. 1 ranked T20I bowler, Varun Chakravarthy’s journey has been nothing short of cinematic. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!As the Indian team gears up for its title defense at the T20 World Cup in Feb-March 2026, the 34-year-old mystery spinner is no longer just an option; he is the most vital cog in the wheel, the banker captain Suryakumar Yadav turns to when the game hangs in the balance. His recent exploits in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa have only solidified this status, propelling him to a career-best ICC rating of 818 points. To put his dominance into perspective, Varun now holds a staggering 119-point lead over his nearest rival, New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy. Even more striking is Varun’s entry into elite territory — eighth on the all-time list of best T20I bowling ratings, placing him among T20 greats like Umar Gul, Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan.
This statistical supremacy is the fruit of a spectacular redemption arc. Since his return to the national fold in October 2024, Varun has been nothing short of a revelation. The “mystery” tag, which once seemed like a burden during his indifferent debut years, has now matured into “mastery”. What makes Varun’s impact particularly valuable to India is the duality of his role. He is not merely a holding bowler tasked with stifling run flow in the middle overs; he is often India’s primary wicket-taking threat when matches threaten to slip.
In 2025 alone, he has been a serial wicket-taker, a trait that separates him from the defensive spinners of the past. In just 17 innings, Varun has snapped up 32 wickets at a staggering average of 13.18, conceding runs at a miserly economy of 6.69 while striking every 11.8 balls. His most telling performance came in January at Rajkot, where he tore through England’s batting with a match-defining spell of 5 for 24. The secret, as teammates and analysts point out, lies not in mystery alone but in controlled, layered variation. He bowls at markedly different speeds within the same over, sometimes rolling his fingers at under 90 kmph before firing one at nearly 110. His carrom ball, slider and top-spinner are released with near-identical actions, making premeditation hazardous.
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What aspect of Varun Chakravarthy’s bowling do you find most impressive?
“He has got something different about him… if he gets it right, it’s very difficult to read him,” former India skipper Rohit Sharma had said about Varun. Unlike many modern spinners who rely heavily on matchups, Varun has shown he can operate against both right and left-handers with tactical ease. What makes Varun indispensable to India’s World Cup defense is the unique technical headache he poses to opposition analysis teams. Unlike traditional leg-spinners who release the googly from the back of the hand, Varun delivers both his leg-break and his googly from the side of the hand. This biomechanical quirk denies the batter the primary visual cue needed to pick the direction of the spin. Furthermore, he has added a lethal new dimension to his game: the ability to land his googly with significant over-spin. His deliveries dip sharply and skid off the surface, targeting the stumps and removing the batter’s reaction time. It is no coincidence that a high percentage of his wickets have been bowled or LBW. He takes the pitch out of the equation, making him effective even on the flat tracks that ICC tournaments often produce. “He is a game-changer. He brings an X-factor for us. He has been playing for so many years, but he’s still able to hold his own,” coach Gautam Gambhir had said. The Indian think-tank, led by Surya and Gambhir, is acutely aware of his value. There is a reason why Ravichandran Ashwin recently advised the management to “save” Varun for the big games. The logic is sound: the less exposure top teams get to his variations in bilateral games, the more potent he will be in the high-pressure knockout games of a World Cup. He provides the team with a tactical flexibility that is irreplaceable. With Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh handling the pace duties at the start and death, Varun owns the middle overs — the phase where T20 games are often won or lost.
