CHENNAI: Minutes after India had whitewashed England 3-0 in the ODI series last month, Gautam Gambhir had opened the door for Varun Chakravarthy to play a big part in the country's Champions Trophy campaign.
"We," Gambhir had said after the series in Ahmedabad, "wanted another wicket-taking option in the middle-overs. We know that Varun can be a massive threat. And with a lot of teams who haven't played him, he could be an x-factor as well. I'm not going to say that he's going to start and all that stuff, but it's always good to have a strong bowling line-up."
If India, like the other teams in the group, had played a few games in Pakistan it's likely the management would have had to pick Yashasvi Jaiswal or another pacer at the expense of Chakravarthy. But once they knew they needn't legislate for multiple conditions, they picked one of the biggest wildcards in their arsenal. In isolation, the 33-year-old, with an experience of one ODI match under his belt when the tournament began, was, at best, a wild gamble. But they went with their instincts.
So, how did the Kolkata Knight Riders bowler go from a late bolter to one of the main men in a matter of weeks?
Chakravarthy's origin story, ironically, started in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, during the Covid-rescheduled Men's T20 World Cup. He was picked as a mystery spinner but the mystery, it seemed, had evaporated. After 2021, his time had seemingly come and gone. India had given debuts to other slower bowlers, some of whom had also picked up wickets.
Then, it changed. He came roaring back to life through a raft of domestic tournaments, including in one-day cricket. He also played a leading role for his IPL side, Kolkata Knight Riders, in 2024. A call up ensued against Bangladesh in late 2024. Since then, his upward trajectory has continued at the rate of knots.
What changed in the intervening years? Two words -- Magnus effect.
Or, to put it in his own words, going from somebody who used to impart a lot of sidespin to a spinner who now relies on overspin. "After the 2021 World Cup, I analysed my bowling and what I found was I was bowling more sidespin, and I wasn't being able to beat the batsmen through sidespin," he had told the broadcaster during the England series earlier this year. "I worked out that I need to beat them with bounce. Then I started working with overspin. If it bounces more, the chances are I can get it to spin more.
"I also worked on varying my pace (after my comeback), because I don't want them to line me up by bowling at the same pace all the time. Because I'm used to seeing such pitches in the IPL, I know it is (ideal) for the seamers but there are certain lengths that are helpful (for the spinners) here. I am trying to keep it away from their arc. Bowling in the just-short length was holding a bit." When spinners get more overspin, the ball tends to dip a lot more and the bounce is also more appreciable (this is basically the Magnus effect).
Because control has never been a problem for him, Rohit Sharma has used him as an all-phase bowler (he was brought in inside and the powerplay and accounted for Travis Head). He was brought back at the death against Australia in the semifinal. Like Gambhir said, he's more than capable of picking up wickets through the middle overs like he showed against the Kiwis in their last group game. Across multiple spells between the 11th and the 40th overs, he picked up 3/27 in eight overs. You cannot ask more from a spinner.
On Dubai's generally slow, tired surfaces, Chakravarthy has been used just like how the management wanted to use him. The smart money is on him starting the final against the Black Caps. Irrespective of what happens, Chakravarthy's redemptive arc is complete.
