Former England opener Nick Knight reckons Varun Chakravarthy has become a little too predictable as he is trying too many googlies, which has led to the dip in his form. The mystery spinner returned with figures of 1-40 in his quota of four overs against the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. Earlier, Chakravarthy returned with expensive figures of 1-47 in his four overs against South Africa. He bagged 1-35 against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 clash.

Chakravarthy has scalped 12 wickets in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 at an average of 15.33 and an economy rate of 7.67.

Knight said he would give the ball to Varun Chakravarthy as soon as England captain Harry Brook comes out to bat.

“It will be difficult. As soon as Brook comes into bat, I would put Chakravarthy on, whatever the stage of the match. At the moment, he’s bowling a few too many googlies — it’s become a little too predictable. He might just need to add a little more variety rather than bowling more googlies than ever before. But he’s a high-class bowler and will be a potent force for India,” Nick Knight told the Indian Express.

On the other hand, the former left-hander reckons India’s middle order has looked a bit tentative in the ongoing World Cup.

“From an Indian perspective, the Powerplay is going to be crucial — that’s going to be a fascinating matchup with Jofra Archer and the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan. Watching India in the tournament so far, on the rare occasion when they’ve got off to a flying start, it’s kind of settled the nerves of the middle order. The middle order, at times, has looked a little anxious, a little lacking in composure when the top order hasn’t fired. So it’s important they get off to a flying start,” Nick Knight said.

India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.