New Delhi: After picking up nine wickets at an economy of well under six runs per over in the first four matches of the T20 World Cup 2026, Varun Chakravarthy has endured a horror outing in the next four. The remarkable turn of fortunes has turned India’s mystery spinner into the weakest link heading into the final.
Such has been the decline in the form that the top-ranked T20I bowler is not even assured of his place in the playing XI for Sunday’s final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
The mystery has unravelled, and the ace spinner is leaking runs after being found out by the opposition batters.
Since the Super Eight stage, Chakravarthy 186 runs in 16 overs at an economy rate of 11.63.
No bowler conceded more runs than Chakravarthy in the high-scoring semifinal between India and England in Mumbai on Thursday, where the defending champions held on for a nervy seven-run win.
Can Chakravarthy arrest the stunning slide?
He was taken to the cleaners by England batters, particularly Jacob Bethell and finished with damaging figures of 1/64 in 4 overs, a spell that could well prove to be the last straw.
Despite his ongoing struggles and race against time to arrest the slide, the Indian contingent has full faith in his abilities and still considers Chakravarthy the ‘X-factor’.
India vice-captain Axar Patel revealed that he has had conversations with Chakravarthy amid the lean patch and stressed the importance of sticking to plans even in a tricky period.
“We have talked about it (about Chakravarthy’s ongoing issues), we have played a lot of knockout games at this moment, so it is very important to have a mindset, yes, there is skill and all, but what we talk to them is, when you go for runs, don’t change your plan even if the batter is targetting,” Axar said on Thursday.
“You have a plan to put it in the stumps first, and then suddenly you change the line. Yes there could be mistakes in the pressure situations, we keep telling him, yes, you are the X Factor, trust yourself, and when it comes to the ball, it is all about confidence.”
The mystery spinner has struggled to find his lengths and has been guilty of bowling too short or too full over the past fortnight.
The batters have succesfully unclocked his mystery and adopted the ploy to not settle him in any sort of rhythm.
Axar needs to regroup quickly
It almost seems like Chakravarthy is falling again and again into the trap set by batters and not bowling to his strengths. When put under pressure, he inadvertently bowls to the batters’ plan instead of following his own.
Axar says he is just one good performance away from getting back in the groove.
“If you look at it, even after being hit for a few sixes, he got the wicket of Jos Buttler. He is the number one T20 bowler; he knows what he is doing. It is a matter of mindset. We have one more match, maybe he will give a match-winning performance in the final,” asserted Axar.
If picked against New Zealand, a positive mindset and a clear plan will be the key for Chakaravarthy.