India Vs England, T20 World Cup Semi-Final: Varun Chakravarthy Toils Hard To Regain His Magic Ahead Of The Big Clash

India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who is going through a rough patch in the ongoing T20 World Cup was one of the four squad members who toiled hard in Mumbai's heat ahead of the semi-final clash against England.

Chakravarthy has been one of the reasons for India's success in the white-ball format ever since he increased his pace and switched to over-spin from side-spin.

The most vital part of his trade is to target the stumps as many as possible and bamboozle the batter with his variations, so that he doesn't have a clue as to where the ball will move.

He has come out as one of India's most effective bowlers in the T20I format, taking 36 wickets in the last year at an average of 13.19 and an economy rate of 7.08. However, in the World Cup, he has been on the expensive side with teams looking at ease while playing him, along with picking up better.

The Indian had an intense training session on Tuesday night, and it was always an option for him to opt for rest, like many others, but he chose to hone his skills and work out the irregularities in his bowling. His entire focus during the session was to perfect the hard length by practising spot bowling.

There were times during the practice when he erred on the shorter side, and the entire activity aimed to minimise it. There were balls fired at the stumps, while at other times, he chose to operate on a wide line.

He was even seen having long conversations with the support staff present at the ground - T Dilip, Morne Morkel, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Sitanshu Kotak. He'll face the in-form English skipper Harry Brook in the semi-finals, which is one of the highly anticipated contests of the match and could have a major impact on the match.

Morne Morkel Presents Background Of Chakravarthy's Intense Session

Bowling coach Morkel praised Chakaravarthy's special skills but said there are times he can put too much pressure on himself.

"It was a normal routine session with Varun. He really enjoys single wicket practice day before the game where mentally he can go through the process. Conversations we have had is about clarity and for him to be feeling good about his bowling," said Morkel, playing down the long conversations with the spinner.

When asked about how does Chakaravarthy's mind operate while preparing for a game? Morkel did not gave in much here.

"It's a tricky question to answer here now. Obviously I can't reveal his process. But I keep on telling him that in our bowling line-up, with the skill and variation Varun's got, he's got the ability to take a wicket almost every ball. So if he goes to a boundary or the ball, he's not executed as well as possible.

"For him it's just to move on to the next one and make sure he commits to that next ball. I think he's a highly skilful guy, hard to pick once you walk into the crease. So for him it's just about getting that confidence with the ball, getting his speed, his length, control right, and not trying to overthink it.

"With Varun at times, to his credit, he wants to be a big performer for the team. So he will put a little bit of pressure on himself. But he's a match-winner for us, and for him it's just to stay and bowl every ball and make sure it's his best ball," added the bowling coach.

Morne Morkel also spoke about the role of Shivam Dubey with the ball and his areas of improvement, as the makeshift all-rounder went for 46 runs in just 2 overs against Zimbabwe in Chennai.

"Shivam is a guy that's always going to give us potentially an over or two. And then for him, the most important thing is just to make smart decisions with the ball.

"So I think that's one area we would like to improve with him sometimes is just his ball execution. Teams are going to go after him, he's going to be the guy that's going to be put under pressure, which gives us opportunities to take wickets.

"So if we can get that thinking process with ball in hand a little bit better, a little bit smarter, that'll be a good one," felt Morkel.

From PTI Inputs