Dissecting Varun Chakravarthy's recent struggles in 2026 T20 World Cup
What's the story
Star Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy continues to struggle in the second half of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. He conceded a whopping 64 runs while taking just one wicket during the semi-final match against England at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The performance is now tied for the second-most expensive bowling spell in T20 World Cup history, as per ESPNcricinfo. On this note, we dissect Chakravarthy's recent struggles in the ongoing tourney.
Bowling record
Chakaravarthy joins these names
Chakaravarthy's performance also ranks the second-costliest for India in all T20Is. He is now tied with Yuzvendra Chahal (0/64 against South Africa, 2018), while Prasidh Krishna's 0/68 against Australia in 2023 tops the list. Meanwhile, the worst-ever bowling figures in a T20 World Cup match were recorded by USA's Saurabh Netravalkar, who finished with 0/65 against India earlier this tournament. Chakaravarthy shares the second place with Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who recorded 0/64 against Pakistan back in 2007.
Match summary
India post a massive total in the semi-final
Despite Chakravarthy's poor performance, India won by seven runs in the semi-final after posting a massive total of 253/7. Sanju Samson was the star performer with a stunning 89 off 42 balls. Shivam Dube (43 off 25) and Ishan Kishan (39 off just 18) also contributed significantly to India's mammoth score. In reply, Jacob Bethell's maiden T20I ton kept England in contention but they fell short at the end .
DYK
A tournament of two halves for the spinner
It has been a tournament of two halves for the spinner. In the league stage, Chakravarthy claimed nine wickets across four games at a brilliant economy of 6.88. Three of India's matches in this stage was against associate nations. However, his next four outings have resulted in just four wickets and an economy of 11.62. The oppostion in these games were South Africa, Zimbabwe, West Indies, and England.
Tactical shift
Have teams have started to play Chakravarthy differently
Ahead of India's crucial T20 World Cup match against West Indies, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that teams have started to play Chakravarthy differently. Despite not allowing batters to charge him or sweep excessively, Varun has been hit for boundaries on the step-hit. The spinner has been maintaining a T20 good length of 5-7m for two-thirds of the time However, batters have started to step-hit even his good-length balls lately.
Prospect
Can India bring Kuldeep for the final?
With Chakravarthy not being in his best form, India might be tempted to induct Kuldeep Yadav in the XI. The left-arm wrist-spinner, who is widely regarded as the best all-format spinner going around, has a brilliant T20I record - 95 wickets at 13.74 with his economy being 6.95. Moreover, the massive boundaries of Ahmedabad should suit Kuldeep's style of bowling.