CHENNAI: The MA Chidambaram Stadium holds a special place in the hearts of cricketers and fans from the state of Tamil Nadu. The warmth and affection of the home crowd propel the players to give their best. And Kolkata Knight Riders’ Varun Chakravarthy is no different as he eagerly waits for his homecoming against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk on Sunday.
“I will be playing at Chepauk after a long time,” the spinner tells this daily. “My family will be coming to watch the game, so it is all the more special,’’ he added. Varun has had a season to remember with 17 wickets in 12 games so far for KKR. While he has been the most valuable bowler for KKR, Varun insists that he has just kept things simple and stuck to basics.
“I didn’t expect anything when the tournament began. I was never worried about being successful or failing, but all I wanted to do is what I learnt (stick to basics). My skipper Nitish Rana backed me well, so I guess I was among wickets,” he said.
As the tournament progressed one could see Varun’s accuracy improved with the ball. “There was a lot of effort taken to be more accurate, the efforts were bowling to my strength and that is bowling wicket to wicket. Once you start bowling well and get your rhythm, your confidence improves, and that in turn helps you handle pressure,” he said. The Chepauk pitch, in general, aids spinners, and this season has been no different. “Yes, we know the wickets in Chennai aid spinners. I hope it suits our bowling and it will be a good match. Both Sunil (Narine) and I are different types of bowlers. Our roles are similar and hope the surface aids us,” he said.
In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana has been leading the side well and helping players to give their best. “Rana has been leading well. He empowers us, he is always there for us and communicates well. Rana has been captain for Delhi, also in the absence of Shreyas he has been leading very well,’’ said Varun.
On working with Chandrakant Pandit, who is one of the most successful coaches in the domestic circuit, Varun said that his tactical nous has helped the team devise the plans. “Pandit is very good at managing the team. He keeps us motivated and makes sure we play as a unit. His inputs and pep talks help us give our best,” said Varun.
Andre Russell will be the key for KKR’s success against CSK. If we look at the pattern in matches at Chepauk, the choice of wickets has led to one side of the boundary being short. ‘’Hopefully he (Russell) does well, that’s how all the pitches have been in Kolkata one side have been short and another is very normal so that how it been in all IPL. So it is a challenge for a bowler, definitely that will be a challenge for all of us,’’ said Chakravarthy.
He insists that his team will have to start afresh and not brood over the loss in the previous game against Rajasthan Royals. “There is no time to waste to keep thinking about the last match. After losing a few matches, Rajasthan came back stronger, that’s how life has to be. We are aware that CSK batters are good against spin and we will play accordingly,’’ he signed off.