Varun Chakravarthy’s path in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 has not been easy. How is Varun Chakraborty, once considered a mystery spinner, going to score a lot of runs in the overs? Ahead of the India vs New Zealand final match on March 8, there are some concerns over the spinner’s future in this high-profile encounter.
Should the Indian team management consider Kuldeep Yadav in place of Varun Chakravarthy only for the final match? During a discussion panel with Cricbuzz, former India captain Ajinkya Rahane expressed his views on the possible replacement.
Should Kuldeep Yadav play in place of Varun Chakraborty?
Ajinkya Rahane believes that the Indian cricket team is fine with Varun only for the final match, replacing him with Kuldeep Yadav as it does not make sense for the top-order batsman. Rahane strongly believes that it is right to retain Varun in the playing combination in the Indian cricket dressing room as well.
Here is the video
Has Varun’s secret been revealed? @jinkyarahane88 & @Michael Vaughan Analyze the performance of the spinner #T20WorldCup #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/vXFrOoVYbE
– Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) 6 March 2026
Ajinkya Rahane said, “I think from my point of view, I don’t think the Indian team should be worried or Varun should think too much. He should be in the playing 11. Right now, what he needs to do is basically keep it really simple.”
Ajinkya Rahane’s advice to Varun before India vs New Zealand T20 World Cup 2026 final
Rahane has a suggestion for Varun Chakraborty. Experienced batsmen said that the bowler will have to have confidence in his ability and wicket-taking skills. In this format, every batsman tries to score as many runs as possible, hence any bowler can prove costly.
“This format, yes, he is struggling at the moment, he is going for runs, he is pouring runs at the moment, but he has to believe in his ability that if he keeps going, he can get you 3-4 wickets in those 24 balls. It is about that belief. Anything, any bowler can score runs”, he said.
Rahane told why spinners are giving away so many runs
According to the veteran, since batsmen find it difficult to score runs against Jasprit Bumrah, they often target other bowlers of the team. Rahane observed that Chakraborty was performing well in the first few overs and also in the middle overs. The bowling figures are becoming weak in the last few overs, when all the batsmen try to score as many runs in a very limited number of balls.
“It’s tactical, because we have Bumrah, the opposition really want to attack Varun Chakravarthy, they want to attack Axar Patel. We have Ajay and Hardik Pandya who are bowling well. So, the opposition is really planning strategically, they are doing it really well,” Ajinkya Rahane told PTI.
“Everyone is really studying Varun Chakravarthy. The overs he is bowling, he is doing really well in the power play, he is really doing well in the middle overs, he struggled in the death overs, the last 4 overs, from 15-20 or 16-20, he struggled. At the moment, just one game, he just needs to believe in his ability that he is going to win the match for the team”, he added.
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