Aakash Chopra hails Varun Chakravarthy’s spell in IND vs ENG 2025 1st T20I

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra lauded Varun Chakravarth’s spell after the hosts won the opening T20I against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday by seven wickets. Arshdeep Singh provided two early wickets of Phil Salt and Ben Duckett and then Chakravarthy breathed down the neck of the opposition batters in the middle overs.

Chakravarthy dismissed Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone with deliveries coming back into the right-handers in the same over. The 33-year-old also got the big wicket of England captain Jos Buttler after he top-scored with 68 runs.

Chakravarthy returned with impressive figures of 3-23 in his quota of four overs and thus bagged the Player of the Match.

“Since the time Varun Chakaravarthy has come back, he has started bowling in the powerplay. He came and bowled the sixth over and his bowling was incredible. The thing I am liking the most is that he is bowling slow in the air. He is happy to just flight the ball,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“Pace is a huge marker in my opinion because nowadays spinners become fast as soon as they get hit and fast bowlers become slow. If a spinner bowls with confidence, he goes slow. You go slow even if you are hit for a six unless you are a Rashid Khan. His bowling style is different. He will bowl fast. However, Varun Chakaravarthy is not Rashid,” Chopra added.

The reputed commentator noted that batters used to read Chakravarthy earlier but added that the mystery spinner has made some adjustments.

“He has variations as well. He bowls a slight leg-break, the ball doesn’t turn much, but the googly is good. People used to read him earlier, that it would be a googly if he bowled fast and a leg-break if it was slow. It used to work out if they watched his hand a little,” he said.

Chopra highlighted that Chakravarthy has improved his accuracy, which has helped him reap rewards in the recent past.

“He also used to bowl bad balls, either short or full. So they used to say they would manage him. However, that has changed in the last couple of years if you see the consistency in terms of length and even line. He doesn’t bowl bad balls. They start and finish within the three stumps. He even starts them from slightly outside the off-stump when he wishes,” Chopra elaborated.

The second T20I between India and England will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday.