“He is always there for me”: Varun Chakravarthy on support from Narine

After their convincing seven-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who secured three crucial wickets during the middle overs, shared insights on the encouragement he received following a challenging match against Punjab Kings.

In a previous outing, Chakravarthy had a tough time, giving up 46 runs in just three overs as Punjab achieved a record run chase. However, he bounced back brilliantly in this game by taking the wickets of DC’s Rishabh Pant, Tristan Stubbs, and Kumar Kushagra, significantly slowing down their scoring rate.

Phil Salt’s explosive half-century early in KKR’s innings then set the stage for a straightforward chase.

Reflecting on the support he received, Chakravarthy expressed his gratitude in the post-match presentation, saying, “Mostly when something does not go well for me, he (Narine) is always there. After conceding so many runs in the last game, it was a tough pill. Everyone, including Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach) and Shahrukh Khan spoke to me and that was nice.”

He also commented on the pitch conditions, noting an increase in turn as the match went on. Chakravarthy revealed his favorite dismissal of the match, adding, “It (the pitch) was holding a bit and you could see as the game progressed, it was turning more. The Stubbs one was my favourite.”