Wasn't making mistakes: Varun Chakravarthy blames pitches for form dip, shrugs off criticism

Kolkata: India frontline spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Sunday struck a dismissive note on his recent struggles, attributing them to unhelpful pitches rather than any "mistakes" in his bowling, while also brushing aside outside criticism.

On a sluggish Eden Gardens surface in an IPL afternoon match, Chakravarthy returned to form with figures of 3/14, playing a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ first win after six matches -- a four-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals.

However, when asked about dealing with the difficult phase dating back to the T20 World Cup Super Eights match against South Africa from February 22, Chakravarthy appeared defiant.

“Bowlers will concede runs. Which game are you talking about?” he said, in response to a query on his struggles after his player-of-the-match show against RR.

His dip in form began during the Super Eights stage of the T20 World Cup, where he was taken apart by South African duo of David Miller and Dewald Brevis, and the trend carried into the IPL.

Despite finishing with 14 wickets overall alongside Jasprit Bumrah as the leading wicket-taker in their T20 World Cup triumph, Chakravarthy leaked runs at over 11 an over in the latter stages and managed only five wickets from last five matches from the Super Eights.

The struggles continued in IPL 2026, as he leaked 48 runs from four overs in their opener against Mumbai Indians and had to wait four matches for his first wicket this season.

Yet, Chakravarthy maintained there was no flaw in his bowling.

“Just because I’ve taken three wickets today, I don’t want to make a sweeping statement. That’s the nature of the game.

“In the next match, if the wicket has nothing in it, that’s going to happen to every spinner. As you saw, initially every spinner was struggling. That’s how it is.

“Once the pitches start slowing down, that’s when we come into the game and become more effective. So it’s the nature of the game and we can’t change it. I don’t think much about it.” The 34-year-old was even more emphatic when addressing criticism of his form.

“I wasn’t making any mistakes -- it was because of the pitches. I’m very tough on myself; if I don’t do well, I analyse what went wrong.

“But the pitches earlier had nothing for spinners. If you see other spinners, it was the same for everyone. It’s good that there is something in the pitch now.” Chakravarthy stressed that spinners come into play only when conditions assist them and cautioned against quick judgments.

“Once there is something in the pitch, I go back to my strength --- attacking the stumps.

“But if there is nothing in the pitch, that’s when bowlers start getting confused, even look clueless, and that happens to everyone.

“It has happened to the best of the best. So no one should be judged on just one good or bad performance.”

Of cramping lines and tearful dressing room

There had also been criticism that he was tinkering too much with his pace and lengths under pressure, but the spinner denied making any major changes.

“My speed has been the same. I haven’t changed anything in speed or length," he said.

“I’ve only tweaked my lines a bit... more cramping lines, not just the fourth stump channel but also wider on off or leg. I’m not sticking only to the stumps.” For KKR, the win came as a huge relief after a stuttering start under skipper Ajinkya Rahane.

Crediting head coach Abhishek Nayar for shielding the players from what he termed “outside noise”, Chakravarthy revealed there were emotional scenes in the dressing room.

“Very, very significant. I can tell you I saw many tears in the dressing room today, which we didn’t even see in the year we won the IPL in 2024,” he said.

“The main credit goes to the coaching staff because they didn’t let the outside noise affect us.

“There were too many people making judgments which were totally baseless. At such times, you need a strong core, and we have that.” He also pointed to injuries at the start of the season as a factor.

“We started this tournament with many injuries and it actually crippled us even before it began. So I would like to give credit to the coaches, especially Abhishek Nayar.

“If you’re taking up a team in such conditions, you need a lot of courage. He has taken up the team in a very tough situation. Slowly, step by step, one win here, one win there, we will be back on track.” With the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, KKR will now have a break of nearly a month at Eden Gardens, with three home matches still to come. They next return here on May 16 to face Gujarat Titans.

Asked if this was the kind of pitch they would prefer going forward, Chakravarthy struck a neutral note.

“There has been a lot of talk about the wickets. I don’t know who decides them, but we are ready for whatever comes. We’re open to play on any surface.”