Suryakumar Yadav lauds Varun Chakravarthy after comprehensive win in opening T20I against England

Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav showered praise on mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy after the team’s convincing seven-wicket win against England at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday. Chakravarthy returned with impressive figures of 3-23 in his quota of four overs and played a key role in bundling out the tourists at 132 after SKY decided to bowl first.

The 33-year-old dismissed Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone in the same over with the wrong ones and then accounted for England’s top-scorer Jos Buttler. Thus, he also bagged the Player of the Match award.

Chakravarthy was right on the money throughout his spell and made the most of the known conditions as Eden Gardens is his home ground when he plays for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

SKY said in the post-match presentation, “Varun is keeping things very simple, he’s clear in his mind and most importantly, his preparations are on point. That’s what makes him different from the others.”

On the other hand, the Indian skipper also showered praise on Arshdeep Singh, who provided two early breakthroughs of England openers – Phil Salt and Ben Duckett. Singh also leapfrogged Yuzvendra Chahal’s tally of 96 wickets to become India’s most successful bowler in T20Is.

Yadav said, “With experience, Arshdeep is learning a lot, taking the extra responsibility. He knew he was the only bowler who could bowl with the new ball today and then it was Hardik. He took that responsibility and he’s been doing it regularly. Gauti bhai gives a lot of freedom. We just want to play a little bit different from what we did in the 2024 T20 World Cup.”

SKY added that they want to stick to their plans and the players want to execute them to perfection on the field.

He concluded, “We have our plans, we are batting the same way and very happy with the way we are going. We’ve been working really hard with the fielding coach in all the sessions. There’s only one demand from him that we have good energy, take the half-chances and make a difference and that’s what everyone is doing.”

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