Chakaravarthy bowled too full or too short: Chawla

Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has paid the price for bowling “too full or too short” in the last two matches of the T20 World Cup, believes former India spinner Piyush Chawla.

Chakaravarthy returned figures of 1/40 and 1/64 against the West Indies and England in the last two games. It remains to be seen if India opt to replace him with left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav for the final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

“I feel sometimes when you get desperate or when you try to do too many things, you end up bowling too full or too short, and that’s exactly what’s happening with Varun,” Chawla told JioStar. “His strength is to bowl that hard length, not the one that fast bowlers bowl, but for a spinner, the good length where the bounce is around knee-high. “Because with his pace, if the batter is not picking him up from the hand, it becomes really difficult as he’s so quick off the surface.” The 37-year-old Chawla, who played 25 ODIs, three Tests and seven T20Is for India, said Chakaravarthy tends to leak runs when he misses his length.

“But when you are a little off radar, then you go for plenty, and this is what’s been happening with Varun Chakaravarthy in the last couple of games. “Either he’s too full or too short, and with this kind of pace, it becomes easier for the batter to when the bounce is so true on the surface.”