"Didn't have a vision as to if...": Varun Chakravarthy on successful India comeback

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 18 (ANI): Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy opened up on his comeback to white-ball set-up, saying that he did not have any vision of making a comeback once he was dropped way back in 2021 but he kept motivating himself to get his variations and accuracy right to earn a comeback in the national colours.

Chakravarthy was speaking to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz ahead of the T20I Asia Cup taking place from September 9 onwards and India playing their campaign opener against hosts UAE the next day. Spinner Varun, who has taken 33 wickets in 18 T20Is so far, looks forward to being a crucial addition in the Indian-set-up as he is on a roll since his international cricket return last year, taking two big five-wicket hauls in T20Is and one in ODIs during the ICC Champions Trophy winning campaign too.

Speaking to Boria, he said about his comeback since last year after a disastrous T20 World Cup 2021, Thank you so much for considering me an important bowler of the setup for the Indian team. It has definitely taken a long time to earn this spot, and as I have mentioned in many other places also that this journey has been long. I did not have a vision as to if I would make a comeback or not once I was dropped from the team, but I kept telling myself that if I get certain variations and accuracy levels, then I will be able to make a comeback into the team.

That was the only motivating factor, and obviously, I had IPL as the platform to showcase whatever I was learning side by side. I also played a lot on the domestic side, like the Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophy and other tournaments. I used to travel all around India and play, which eventually gave me a lot of confidence. That was the main aspect of my comeback, he added.

Varun admitted that while he was away from the team for three years, he went through a lot of mental health issues and he had no clarity if he will ever make a return.

The main reason was not having clarity of whether I would ever make a return to the team. The only thing in front of me was IPL and the domestic leagues, and I am definitely grateful for having IPL, because many other cricketers dont have that as well, he continued.

Varun said that a comeback to the Indian side was his goal, and he kept thinking of ways to improve himself.

After having good IPL seasons, I felt that I should have been in the team, but still, I was not there. So everything made sense when I was picked after a long time for the Bangladesh tour last year. Yes, that phase was challenging, but the only thing I had control over was going to practice at 5:30 in the morning, doing some spot bowling, and then coming back home to hit the gym in the evening. I kept pushing myself, and that is how it worked. Today, I would not regret any of that, because those hard times made me a better person and a better human being, he added.

Varun also said that cricket is evolving very fast and in T20s with the white-ball, one needs to bring out a certain dimension or at least a small variation in once in two years and keep evolving with proper purpose and skill levels, and not just doing something different for the sake of doing it.

A few people just try some crazy actions, but in terms of developing a real skill with the ball, it takes a lot of time. Once I was away from the team post-2021, I had many variations in my mind. I had around eight variations, and I wasnt excelling in any of those, so my goal was to excel in those one by one. Right now, if you ask me, I have 3 to 4 balls where I am an 8 on 10. I must keep improving and I do feel that in some time, I might hit my peak ability, but let see how things go. In cricket, certain things are not in our control, but still I am trying my best to keep evolving, he concluded. (ANI)

Disclaimer: This news article is a direct feed from ANI and has not been edited by the News Nation team. The news agency is solely responsible for its content.