Kolkata Knight Riders have dominated some games with the help of their spinners in the Indian Premier League 2024. Sunil Narine has been magnificent for them, while Varun Chakaravarthy is slowly returning to his best. He took three wickets against Delhi Capitals and helped the franchise register a win by 7 wickets. The 32-year-old was named the Player of the Match.
Former India player Navjot Singh Sidhu compared Varun with legendary cricketer Anil Kumble. Sidhu gave the former spinner the name Jumbo after he hit Kirti Azad on the helmet in one of the domestic games.
“Varun reminds me of Anil Kumble as his ball doesn’t come slowly off the surface. It nips through, and the batter doesn’t get time to adjust. Varun is tall like Kumble and has a similar bowling action. Anil used to hit the wicket hard, and the ball got a lot of bounce because of his action, and the KKR spinner is pretty similar.
‘Varun is not easy to face as he hurries up the batters, and they are often late against him. He is the future investment and should be brought back into the side,” Navjot Singh Sidhu said on Star Sports.
Mohammad Kaif also demanded that Varun should be considered for the selection. “He was dropped from the Indian team after the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Since the, he has been among the wickets. His name is nowhere among the top Indian spinners. I feel he should be there in the Indian team,” he said.