Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Varun Chakravarthy after he bowled a fine spell against Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday to help his team restrict the visitors to 179 after Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and decided to bat first.
KKR won the thrilling contest by five wickets after Nitish Rana scored 51 runs whereas Andre Russell and Rinku Singh added the finishing touches.
Meanwhile, KKR mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy bowled a brilliant spell of 3-26 in his quota of four overs. Chakravarthy accounted for Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, and Jitesh Sharma in his fine spell.
Chopra said that Chakravarthy is not bowling any bad balls and picked him as his MVP. The spinner from Tamil Nadu has been in terrific form in the ongoing IPL 2023 as he has scalped 17 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 19.23 and an economy rate of 7.84.
He is currently the joint second-most-highest wicket-getter of the season.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “In my opinion, the most valuable player is Varun Chakaravarthy. The guy is incredible and this year is going different for him. He won them the last match as well. He is not bowling any bad balls, there is no doubt about that.”
The renowned commentator lauded Chakravarthy for adding a new weapon to his repertoire and making the most of it against PBKS.
“The three wickets he took here, in that the way he got Liam Livingstone out, it is incredible. He has learned a new ball, which almost goes like a leg-spinner. He used to bowl carrom balls and googlies earlier, two types of deliveries, but he has a new addition now.”
Former KKR batter hailed Chakravarthy for bowling an accurate leg-spinner and tipped him as gold dust for the franchise.
“He has started to bowl a new ball where the ball goes with revolution and turns away after pitching. The accuracy with which he is able to bowl leg-spin as well, Varun Chakaravarthy is looking like gold dust.”
Chopra went on to conclude by saying that Chakravarthy will keep KKR alive in the playoff race if he keeps bowling like this. Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.
