Former Team India batsman Mohammad Kaif made a big comment about mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final match against England in Mumbai on Thursday, March 5. Kaif said that Varun gets nervous when the opposition batsmen start scoring runs against him.
Varun has taken 12 wickets in seven matches at an average of 15.33 and economy rate of 7.66. The mystery spinner took nine wickets in four matches during the group stage. However, in the Super 8 stage, he took only three wickets in three matches and conceded runs at an economy rate of 10.17.
Varun Chakraborty shows a little nervousness sometimes – Mohammad Kaif
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif said that many batsmen are now coming well prepared with plans to face Varun Chakravarthy. He said that the spinner often deviates from his normal wicket-to-wicket line and bowls towards the pads.
Kaif said, “Many batsmen are coming prepared now, they know how to plan against him (Varun). This is where a little problem may arise.”
“I have noticed that when he gets hit for runs, sometimes he gets a little nervous. You can see it in the way he reacts. Instead of sticking to his natural wicket-to-wicket length, he starts bowling on the pads,” he said.
I think he has bowled very little leg-spin – Mohammad Kaif
Kaif also said that many players are waiting for Varun Chakraborty to bowl his googly. He said that the batsmen are treating Varun like an off-spinner and hitting it straight down the ground or towards long-on with the entire face of the bat.
“Throughout this World Cup, I think he has bowled very little leg-spin. He can work on his leg-spin because right now batsmen are waiting for his googly. As the ball comes into the stumps, they treat it like an offspinner and expect it to turn inside out. That’s why a lot of them are able to hit it long and straight across the face of the bat.”
Varun Chakraborty needs to pay more attention to his leg-spin – Mohammad Kaif
During the same discussion, Mohammad Kaif said that Varun Chakravarthy should rely more on his leg-spin, as this approach would allow the spinner to surprise the batsmen with googlies later on the stumps.
“I think Varun also needs to focus more on his leg-spin. He can bowl outside the off-stump line with his leg-spin and then bring the googly as a variation,” the 45-year-old said.
“If he just keeps bowling googlies, the batsmen can start understanding him better. Instead of targeting the pads, he can attack outside the off-stump with leg-spin and then surprise them with a googly on the stump. This could be a better plan for Varun,” he said.
Varun has played 43 T20Is and has taken 71 wickets at an average of 15.63 and an economy rate of 7.23, including two five-wicket hauls. Team India will look to overcome England in the upcoming encounter as they aim to move one step closer to defending their T20 World Cup title.
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