IPL 2025: I have to be on my toes again, says KKR ace Varun Chakravarthy

The past year has seen the evolution of Varun Chakravarthy 2.0, starting from him being the second-highest wicket taker in the IPL to making his mark in the recent ICC Champions Trophy. However, the ace up reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders’ sleeve feels he still has to be ‘’on his toes’’ as they open their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in a much-hyped clash at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Saturday.

‘’You have to start from zero. As they say, if you score a hundred in the previous match, you still have to start from zero. Similarly, I did well in the last tournament but still, IPL is a different ballgame and I have to be on my toes,’’ the mystery bowler said at the pre-match press conference.

A thinking cricketer, Varun surely knows that he has to develop some other component in his arsenal as his new action and variety must have been already dissected by the technical team of other franchises. The question of the challenge of bowling to master batter Virat Kohli came up and Varun chose to soft-pedal it: ‘’I am definitely excited to be coming up against Virat bhai. Obviously, he has batted well against me in the past and I would like to do well against him also.’’ 

A lot of Varun’s current form has been attributed to his ability to keep rival batters guessing. Asked when he has the time to develop his arsenal amid all forms of cricket, the 33-year-old said: ‘’Basically whenever I play some domestic cricket, I try to work out some new deliveries in it. It worked out last year but before that, it didn’t work out much. Obviously, I do have a few balls up my sleeve but it all depends on how it’s going to come out of my hand and it depends on many other factors also.’’

Breaking down his craft, Varun said: ‘’See, the ball can deviate only in three ways — it can go left, right or straight through the centre. It just depends on how I am going to do the sequencing for them — if I am going to bowl off-spin right now or leg-spin, it just depends. That’s where the tactical side of the game comes in and that’s what I am trying to improve.’’

A look at IPL history shows only two teams — Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians — have won back-to-back titles.Drawing strength from the fact that KKR have retained nine of their title-winning squad from last year, the spinner said: ‘’We look to defend the title this year. We have a great squad and a strong new international core in Quinton De Kock, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson, Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell.’’

Rain threat

What, however, is creasing the forehead of hosts Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is the forecast of thunderstorms and rains over the next two days. A light drizzle forced both teams to wrap up their practice sessions early and the groundstaff swung into action to cover the entire ground quickly.

It could be quite a damp squib if the 60,000 fans, quite a lot of whom have been picking up tickets from the grey market, don’t get a full game. There is also a Bollywood style gig, comprising Shreya Ghoshal, Disha Patani and Karan Aujla lined up for the opening ceremony.

Catch the match

Who: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

When: Saturday 22 March, 7.30 pm (IST)