3 min readUpdated: Mar 4, 2026 08:00 PM IST
In two sessions, one on Tuesday evening and the other on Wednesday afternoon, Varun Chakaravarthy was hard at work, bowling either at a batter or a single stump. The 34-year-old, who was viewed as a banker of four overs for Suryakumar Yadav before the T20 World Cup began, has taken 12 wickets in this tournament, but half of those have come against the Netherlands and Namibia.
He has struggled against more formidable sides such as South Africa and the West Indies, and faces the English challenge on the smaller Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
“Just a normal routine session with Varun. He really enjoys a single-wicket practice a day before the game. We can mentally go through his process. The conversations we have had is just about clarity and for him to walk away feeling good about his bowling,” bowling coach Morne Morkel said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
How a bowler responds to a difficult outing often reveals as much about his mindset as his skill. In Morkel, Chakaravarthy appears to have found someone who can guide those conversations and reinforce the confidence needed to bounce back after tougher days.
“Obviously, I can’t reveal his process. But I keep on telling him that in our bowling line-up, with the skill and the variation Varun has got, he has got the ability to take a wicket almost every ball. So if he goes for a boundary on a ball, he has not executed as well as possible. For him, it is just to move on to the next one and make sure he commits to the next ball,” the South African said.
“Varun wants to be a big performer for the team. So he will put a bit of pressure on himself. But he’s a match winner for us.”
The semifinal, however, is not just about individual roles but also the conditions that could shape the contest. With the game set to be played at Wankhede, the surface and weather are likely to influence both team selection and approach.
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“We’re not quite sure a day out how the wicket is going to play. It’s a lot hotter all of a sudden in India, so in terms of moisture and allowing the wicket not to dry out, I think it’s going to be key to playing well”.
“Team selection will go in terms of what we see on game day. From there, we just need to be smart in our skills, reading the conditions and adapting to it. I expect it to be a good wicket, high-scoring game. We are preparing ourselves for tough conditions and from there, we will assess. If we go in with a mindset that it is going to be a high-scoring game and we need to be up to the standard, I’d say that’s a good place to be,” Morkel said.
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