Boria Majumdar
There was a time about three years ago when Varun Chakaravarthy seemed to have reached the end of the road. A wicket-less T20 World Cup in Dubai was followed by a disastrous IPL season in 2022, when he managed to take just six wickets. But instead of throwing in the towel, Varun went back to the drawing board and returned a better bowler. In the last three IPL seasons, he has taken 58 wickets, contributing hugely to KKR’s title win in 2024. In this exclusive interview with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz editor-in-chief, Varun talks of what he learned from those setbacks, those that kept faith in him, and how he deals with now being India’s go-to spinner in white-ball cricket.
Boria: Most of us consider you India’s premier white-ball spinner at the moment. From not being in the team for a while to being the go-to bowler – how do you look back at this journey?
Varun: 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 didn’t 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 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.
Boria: The truth is that it hasn’t been easy. At any point, did you have self-doubt? Did you ever deal with mental health challenges, and what kept you going and what has made you driven?
Varun: It’s a very good question, as not just me, but many cricketers go through mental health challenges as I did too for almost three years after I was out of the team from 2021. 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 don’t have that as well.
But trying to make a comeback to the Indian side was my goal, so I always used to keep thinking why I’m not there and about ways in which I can improve myself. 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 in my control was going to the practice 5:30 in the morning, do some spot bowling and come back home and hit the gym in the evening. I kept pushing myself and that’s how it worked. Today, I won’t regret any of that, because those hard times made me a better person and a better human being.
Boria: As someone who wins hearts with his art, you need to keep evolving. How do you utilise the off-season for example? How do you add new weapons to your repertoire and keep getting better?
Varun: Yes, I feel cricket is evolving very fast, and for the T20 aspect with the white ball, you need to start bringing in some or the other dimension, or at least a small variation, say once in two years. You basically need to 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 wasn’t 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’s see how things go. In cricket, certain things are not in our control, but still I am trying my best to keep evolving.
Boria: With the Asia Cup coming up, needless to say there is a huge interest. How do you prepare for such a tournament?
Varun: Yeah, the Asia Cup is coming up, and for the white-ball players, they have got a good break after the IPL. I did play TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League), but still I’ve got a one-month break right now. It has been a good time to work on my strength and conditioning, fitness, my bowling, my batting, and everything. I got time to rejuvenate my entire self in a holistic way. Feeling better because I got a lot of time to spend with my kid, my wife, my parents. Yes, I think, I have put in the hard yards. Now, the rest is up to the bigger force.
Boria: The World Cup isn’t far away either. How have you planned for the next six months?
Varun: Yes, the World Cup isn’t far away, but after the Asia Cup, there is a long streak of many white-ball tours coming up and they are challenging ones as well. So the primary goal will be to excel in all those tours, then hit the World Cup with good confidence and more clarity within myself and the process that I am trying to develop.
Boria: What has the IPL done for you, and how much of your growth will you attribute to the IPL and your stint with KKR?
Varun: Yeah, IPL has been very important to me because that has given me an identity from the time I was picked by Kings XI Punjab. And then KKR, where my entire life changed when I got to meet DK (Dinesh Karthik) and Abhishek Nayar. That was a very important time for me. From there, my growth has been steady, but the last three years after I was off the team post the 2021 World Cup, IPL has been more important. I was able to rediscover myself. In all the three IPLs, I was able to bring in variations, which gave me a perspective that bowlers can never stagnate. And if he’s ready to evolve, he can keep evolving. This is my important learning from the last three years, which I can never forget.
Boria: Conditions in Dubai should suit you. Do you look at such factors, or in the zone that you are in, your art is conditions-agnostic?
Varun: Yeah, the conditions in Dubai from what I remember in the Champions Trophy definitely suited the Indian bowlers, and definitely those factors play a huge role. I cannot say I am above those factors. There are many factors which has to be in place for me to perform. One factor out of those is the ground conditions, and I hope they favours us. On the other hand, in IPL, you may have seen that the factors and conditions don’t help the bowlers much. So, I’m also used to bowling in such conditions. Hence, I’m ready for both, but I am very eager to see how the pitches are at this point of the year in the UAE.
Boria: Finally, a word on Surya and Gautam. You have been with Gautam at KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders). How do you see him as a coach and mentor? And Surya as skipper?
Varun: Yes, Surya (Kumar Yadav) and Gautam (Gambhir), I feel have played big roles in my comeback because they wanted me. Surya told me before the Bangladesh tour that “I’m looking at you, let’s see how the other things go, but I’m keen on having you in the team set-up”. Similarly, Gauti Bhai also has helped me a lot in my comeback, the way he motivates me. Even if we talk little, he has always given me good confidence and he’s always told that “no matter who’s going to ignore you, I will keep you in my plans for now”. So, that kind of gave me confidence. And if you ask about Gauti Bhai as a mentor, then I would say he brings in a warrior mindset in the dressing room, which is very important and has worked for us at KKR and in the Champion Trophy.
We even got to see that in the recently concluded England vs India Test series. He brings energy to the dressing room, which is very important. Around him, I always feel there is no mediocrity. You give everything you have and it doesn’t matter whether you win or you lose. And about Surya, he is someone very similar to Rohit [Sharma] – that’s what I’ve seen. He is a very tactically sound, and maybe his time at MI (Mumbai Indians) has given him good exposure to great captains. He is a very good guy and never puts pressure on the bowlers. It would be a bowler’s delight to have a captain like him.
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