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World No. 1 T20I bowler Varun Chakaravarthy has picked up nine wickets in 4 matches of T20 World Cup 2026.
Varun Chakaravarthy has dismissed nine batters in 4 matches of T20 World Cup 2026. (Picture Credit: AFP)
World No. 1 T20I bowler Varun Chakaravarthy is on fire for India within the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Within the 4 matches played thus far, Varun has picked up 9 wickets. He dismissed one USA batter in India’s first Group A match after which picked up 3 wickets for 7 runs in 2 overs against Namibia on February 12. Within the high-voltage India-Pakistan match played on February 15, Varun finished with figures of two for 17 in three overs, and against the Netherlands, he once more removed three batters.
Varun’s super show with the ball in the continued shortest-format mega-event has earned him big praise from former India skipper and opening batter Krishnamachari Srikkanth. In line with the member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team, Chakaravarthy is a modern-day great.
Speaking on his YouTube channel after India’s win over the Dutch team on the Narendra Modi Stadium on February 18, Srikkanth stated that Varun is a ‘modern-day great’ due to his ability to make every batter struggle against him.
“Varun, you’re a modern-day great. I’m telling you truthfully from my heart — not since you’re Tamil, not since you’re from Tamil Nadu or Chennai. No. Purely due to ability,” Srikkanth said.
“Every batter is struggling. They don’t know the way to face him. They don’t know whether to defend. They don’t know whether to attack. They don’t know what to do against him. That’s exactly what Bumrah was a few years ago. Bumrah remains to be doing brilliantly”, he added.
Srikkanth feels that despite being energetic in international cricket for greater than five years now, Varun remains to be unplayable.
“Have a look at the pitch maps — most of his deliveries are around off-stump and middle-stump. Against right-handers, the ball just angles in barely after which turns. His googly is available in sharply. Most of his wickets are from good length or simply short of excellent length. Not even full deliveries. Even his so-called short balls are deceptive”, Srikkanth said.
“People don’t know what he’s bowling. Is it a googly? Is it the straight one? Is it slower? Is it quicker? Nobody knows. Suddenly he bowls one faster. Then he alters speed again. Multiple speeds. Long term-up, relaxed motion – but incredibly deceptive,” he added.
February 19, 2026, 23:50 IST
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