SA vs IND: Varun Chakaravarthy Attributes Domestic Cricket and Gambhir's Guidance to Regaining His Form

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SA vs IND: Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has opened up about the challenges he faced during a three-year hiatus from international cricket.

He attributes his return to form to rigorous domestic matches and guidance from new head coach Gautam Gambhir. Despite his impressive 5 for 17 in the second T20I against South Africa, India lost by three wickets.

Chakaravarthy was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL-winning team this year, with Gambhir as coach. Reflecting on his comeback, Chakaravarthy highlighted Gambhir's crucial role. "Yes, we played the Bangladesh tour and he was coaching the team. And definitely, we spoke a lot and he gave me a lot of role clarity," he said.

Role Clarity and Domestic Grind

Chakaravarthy explained that Gambhir provided him with clear instructions. "He told me, even if you go for 30-40 runs, it doesn't matter. All you have to look is to pick wickets. So that's your role in the team. And yeah, the clarity which they gave definitely helped me," he shared.

The spinner's efforts reduced South Africa to 66 for 6 while chasing 125, but Tristan Stubbs and Gerald Coetzee led their team to victory in 19 overs, ending India's 11-match winning streak. Chakaravarthy acknowledged the importance of an aggressive mindset when defending low scores.

Facing South Africa's Strong Lineup

During the innings break, Suryakumar Yadav encouraged the team to focus on playing aggressively without worrying about the result. "Obviously, the mindset has to be aggressive when the score is low. You have to pick wickets and that's when we can win the match," Chakaravarthy noted.

Chakaravarthy believes that performing well against a strong team like South Africa boosts confidence for future games. "Definitely, when we came to South Africa, we knew that it's going to be a challenging tour because the Proteas, they are one of the best teams right now and they have a powerful batting lineup," he said.

Upcoming Matches Against South Africa

The spinner expressed hope for continued success in upcoming matches. "Doing well against them definitely gives me the motivation to do better and definitely I can. Hopefully, I can do well in the upcoming games," he added.

India is set to face South Africa in the third and final T20Is on Wednesday (November 13) and Friday (November 15) at Centurion and Johannesburg, respectively. Chakaravarthy aims to maintain his aggressive approach as India prepares for these crucial matches.