Mumbai, March 4 India's frontline spinner Varun Chakaravarthy was one of the four squad members who chose to train in the scorching Mumbai afternoon a day before the T20 World Cup semifinal against England.
Chakaravarthy has been India's trump card in the middle overs over the past 12 months, winning them games on multiple occasions. He has become a lot more effective since he increased his speed and switched from side-spin to over-spin.
His strength lies in targeting the stumps and getting the ball to move in any direction, which keeps the batsmen guessing.
He took as many as 36 wickets last year at an average of 13.19 and an economy rate of 7.08. The mystery spinner was lethal as usual in the initial part of the T20 World Cup, but has not been as consistent with his lengths in the Super Eights stage of the tournament, proving to be a bit expensive against West Indies and South Africa.
After the intense training session on Tuesday night, he could have rested like the majority of the players, but he chose to hone his skills in the heat.
He just focused on spot bowling, trying to find his lengths. On several occasions, he was on the shorter side.
There were balls aimed at the stumps, while at other times, he chose to operate on a wider line.
The support staff present at the ground – T Dilip, Morne Morkel, Ryan ten Doeschate and Sitanshu Kotak – were seen having long conversations with Chakaravarthy.
He will be up against an in-form Harry Brook, which will be one of the match-ups to track on Thursday night.
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. The conversations we have had are about clarity and for him to be feeling good about his bowling," said Morkel, downplaying the long conversations with the spinner.
How does Chakaravarthy's mind operate while preparing for a game? Morkel did not reveal much about this.
"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 that varun has, 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.
Shivam Dube has also leaked runs. He conceded 46 runs in his two overs against Zimbabwe, and on a flat pitch, he is a risky sixth bowling option. Morkel said his ball execution can be better at times.
"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.
