India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy believes explosive opener Abhishek Sharma is likely to return for India’s high-voltage clash against Pakistan on Sunday. Abhishek’s maiden T20 World Cup campaign has so far been far from smooth.
On his debut in the marquee tournament, against the USA, the top-ranked T20I batter was dismissed for a golden duck, caught at deep cover, a region that is usually his preferred scoring zone. Matters worsened when he did not take the field later in the game and had to be admitted to hospital overnight with a stomach infection. The illness subsequently ruled him out of what would have been his second World Cup appearance, against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in the national capital on Thursday.
In a positive development for India, Abhishek was present at the stadium during the Namibia match and was seen in the dugout. According to Chakravarthy, the left-handed opener has also resumed training.
“I think he will play the next match,” Varun said after India defeated Namibia to register their 10th consecutive win in the T20 World Cup. “I don’t know. As far as I have spoken to him, he looks good. He did some practice today. He said he is on the way.”
That assessment appeared more optimistic compared to India captain Suryakumar Yadav’s remarks at the toss earlier in the day. “He will take a game or two, I don’t know,” Suryakumar had said.
In Abhishek’s absence, Sanju Samson was promoted to open the innings and made an immediate impact, smashing three sixes in a brisk 22 off eight deliveries. However, Ishan Kishan retained wicketkeeping duties, suggesting that Samson currently remains the reserve opening option in the squad.
If Abhishek regains full fitness ahead of India’s travel to Colombo, the team will successfully navigate their early availability concerns. Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the USA fixture due to illness, returned to the playing XI in Delhi and delivered a tidy spell with figures of 1/20, in addition to taking a sharp diving catch.
Washington Sundar, sidelined earlier with a side strain and absent from the squad in Mumbai, has also rejoined the team and fulfilled his responsibilities from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Chakravarthy, who played a pivotal role in derailing Namibia’s chase with a three-wicket haul has revealed that his focus has been on refining his core strengths, particularly attacking the stumps and consistently hunting wickets.
Since India’s 2024 World Cup triumph, the Tamil Nadu spinner has developed into the side’s primary middle-overs weapon in T20Is, claiming the most wickets in that phase. His blend of unerring accuracy and subtle variations has allowed him to control a crucial segment of the innings. His effectiveness against right-handers in this period has stood out, as evidenced by the ease with which he bowled Louren Steenkamp and JJ Smit.
“I have definitely worked on a few aspects of bowling, such as speed and more revs. People do work on variations also, but I worked on perfecting my existing balls, which helped a lot. I worked on my follow-through to get more zip off the wicket. My plan is to take wickets and keep attacking the stumps – that’s the basic plan,” Varun told reporters in the mixed zone at the conclusion of the game.
Reflecting on his difficult outing in the 2021 Men’s T20 World Cup, where he failed to pick up a wicket in three matches, Chakravarthy reiterated that focusing more on over spin rather than side spin to generate extra pace off the surface has played a crucial role in his resurgence.
“As I have already mentioned previously, I have worked on my over spin rather than side spin and more speed and zip off the wicket. Well, usually I don’t do that, but sometimes, rightly pointed (on starting with googly), sometimes it’s just my instinct. But usually I go to my stock ball first, not the googly.”
The ICC No.1-ranked T20I bowler also acknowledged that pitch conditions in the opening games of the tournament have been markedly different from those encountered during the bilateral series against South Africa and New Zealand at home in the lead-up to the event.
“Again, same, if you see the matches that we have played, the bilaterals leading up to this World Cup, they were all very flat, and this was definitely a little surprising in the first match, and this wicket also. But we have to adapt ourselves to whatever comes our way,” he said.