New Delhi, February 13 India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy says he is reaping the rewards of adding more pace and revolutions to the ball.
The world's top-ranked bowler says he constantly strives for improvement, whether it is introducing a new delivery or perfecting existing variations.
"So I have definitely worked on certain aspects of my bowling, such as pace, more revolutions, and variations. People also work on variations, but I focused on perfecting my existing deliveries, which helped a lot," he said after India's 93-run victory over Namibia in a T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
In the past, Chakravarthy has spoken about how switching from side spin to over-spin contributed significantly to his success. He has taken 63 wickets in 38 T20Is at an impressive average of 15.19 and a frugal economy rate of 7.06.
He was too good for the Namibian batters on Thursday night, taking three wickets in 12 balls. His accuracy was such that he dismissed opener Louren Steenkamp with a googly off his very first ball of the match.
Chakravarthy has also worked on his follow-through, which allows him to get more "zip" off the surface.
As someone who is always looking for ways to improve, Chakravarthy says he is regularly working on adding new deliveries to his arsenal.
"That has been my approach. I always have a delivery in mind...It depends on me, if I am courageous enough, I will try it in the next match, but it depends," he said.
"There have been a few deliveries that have worked well for me in matches, and there have also been variations that I have been trying for the past six years, but they haven't come off," he said.
While he is not complaining as a bowler, Chakravarthy was surprised by the behavior of the pitch in the first two games in Mumbai and Delhi.
"Again, it was the same. If you look at the matches we have played, the bilateral series leading up to this World Cup, they were all very flat. This (Delhi) wicket was definitely a surprise, even the first match. But we have to adapt, whatever comes our way," he said.
"Today, the pitch was keeping the ball low, but there wasn't much turn. It was keeping low," he pointed out.
Chakravarthy expects the dew to play a significant role in Colombo, as it did on Thursday night.
"Dew plays a big role when you are bowling second, and if you have to defend, it can also be a factor. There was a lot of dew today as well, but we were able to do well," he said ahead of the Pakistan game.
Giving the opposition due credit, Chakravarthy was impressed with the tactics and variations employed by Namibia captain and spinner Gerhard Erasmus, who bowled at times with round arm and from behind the stumps, leaving the batters in two minds.
"I would say he bowled very tactically. He was very good, and I could see that the way they had planned their bowling, they had worked on it, and there was a lot of thought behind it," he said.
"If you look at the last four overs of their bowling, they had precise plans and they executed them. So, they came up with a good strategy and plan," added the Indian spinner.
