Former Indian national cricket team batsman Mohammad Kaif has clearly said that mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is a better bowler than left-arm Kuldeep Yadav in T20I cricket.
Mohammad Kaif said Varun Chakravarthy is ahead of Kuldeep Yadav in the pecking order in T20Is for all the right reasons as he has never disappointed with the ball.
Kuldeep Yadav vs Varun Chakraborty in numbers
Varun Chakravarthy is currently the No. 1 ranked bowler in the ICC men’s T20I rankings, and he has emerged as one of the most reliable T20 spinners in the world over the last few years.
The 34-year-old has the ability to bowl at all phases of the game, and keeps adding new weapons to his arsenal from time to time, making it difficult for batsmen to read him despite facing a lot in international cricket as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Overall, Varun Chakravarthy has played 35 T20Is for India and won 58 matches at an average of 15.34, economy of 7.09 and strike rate of 12.9.
Talking about Kuldeep Yadav, he falls in a rare category of cricketers who can bowl left-arm wrist spin. He is a magician with the ball in all formats, but sometimes he gets brutally beaten by the opposition batsmen.
However, that doesn’t stop him from making a sensational comeback every now and then. Overall, he has played 51 T20 matches for India and has taken 92 wickets at an average of 13.27, economy of 6.86 and strike rate of 11.5.
Both are excellent bowlers, but if you have to choose one then Varun is ahead – Mohammad Kaif
Speaking ahead of the third T20I between India and New Zealand on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif highly praised Varun Chakravarthy, saying that he takes wickets in all phases of the game in T20Is and is a better spinner than Kuldeep Yadav. He elaborated:
“Varun has gone a little ahead of him (Kuldeep). Both are excellent bowlers, but if you have to choose one, Varun is ahead at the moment. We saw it in the first match as well. Kuldeep did not play. Varun and Axar played. So Team India’s plan has become very clear. If there is a choice between Varun and Kuldeep, Varun is the preferred choice, and he is that kind of bowler too. He has never disappointed.”
“You can bring Varun in the powerplay whenever you want. Usually, Kuldeep doesn’t bowl in the powerplay. Varun does. The captain will never hesitate in giving Varun the fourth or fifth over, he will be worried whether he scores 20 runs. There is no such worry with Varun. He comes in the fifth over and takes wickets, takes wickets in the powerplay, takes wickets in the middle overs and takes wickets later on as well.”
I believe that a bowler like Varun comes into the Indian team only by great luck – Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif further said that India is lucky to have a player like Varun Chakravarthy in the T20I setup as he is exactly like Jasprit Bumrah and can make an immediate impact in the match no matter how difficult the situation is. Kaif elaborated:
“I think a bowler like Varun Chakravarthy comes into the Indian team only by sheer luck. A captain is very lucky to get a bowler like him, no matter what the conditions. Like with Bumrah, when the captain can say, take the ball and change the game with one spell, Varun is now in the same league. You can say, Varun, take the ball and take wickets.”
He said, “Varun has come a long way. If you talk about his control, earlier he used to bowl only googlies. Now he has also learned leg spin. He knows that even if he gets hit on one or two balls, it is okay, because he can get the batsman out on the next ball. As a spinner, when you develop the confidence in your bowling that even if you get hit, it doesn’t matter because you can take wickets on the next ball as well. The confidence is clearly visible in him.”
Also read: Why rest Jasprit Bumrah? Gautam Gambhir accused of bias on Mohammed Siraj’s continuous playing
