Kuldeep Yadav, you are no Varun Chakravarthy: India left-arm wrist-spinner handed brutal reality check

Former India National Cricket Team batsman, Mohammad Kaif, has bluntly stated that the mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is a superior bowler to the left-arm Kuldeep Yadav in T20I cricket.

Mohammad Kaif said that Varun Chakravarthy is ahead of Kuldeep Yadav in the pecking order in T20Is for all the right reasons, as he has never disappointed with the ball.

Kuldeep Yadav vs Varun Chakravarthy in numbers

Varun Chakravarthy is currently the No. 1-ranked bowler in the ICC Men's T20I Rankings, and he has emerged as one of the most reliable T20 spinners in the world in the last few years.

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The 34-year-old possesses the ability to bowl in all phases of the game, and he has kept on adding new weapons to his arsenal every now and then, which has made it difficult for the batters to read him despite facing him quite a lot in international cricket as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Overall, Varun Chakravarthy has played 35 T20Is for India and has bagged 58 at an average of 15.34, an economy of 7.09 and a strike rate of 12.9.

Talking about Kuldeep Yadav, he belongs to a rare category of cricketers who can bowl left-arm wrist-spin. He is a magician with the ball across formats, but sometimes he is brutally smashed by the opposition batters.

However, that doesn't stop him from making a sensational comeback every single time. Overall, he has played 51 T20Is for India and has bagged 92 wickets at an average of 13.27, an economy of 6.86, and a strike rate of 11.5.

Both are outstanding bowlers, but if you have to pick one, Varun is ahead - Mohammad Kaif

Speaking ahead of the third T20I between India and New Zealand on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif showered ultimate praise on Varun Chakravarthy, saying that he takes wickets in all phases of the game in T20Is and is a better spinner than Kuldeep Yadav. He elaborated:

"Varun has gone slightly ahead of him (Kuldeep). Both are outstanding bowlers, but if you have to pick one, Varun is ahead at this point in time. We saw this in the earlier match as well. Kuldeep did not play. Varun and Axar played. So the planning of Team India has become very clear. If there is a choice between Varun and Kuldeep, Varun is the preferred option, and he is that kind of bowler too. He has never disappointed.”

"You can bring Varun on whenever you want in the powerplay. Kuldeep does not usually bowl in the powerplay. Varun does. The captain will never hesitate to give Varun the fourth or fifth over, worrying that he might go for 20 runs. There is no such concern with Varun. He comes on and takes wickets in the fifth over, takes powerplay wickets, takes wickets in the middle overs, and later on as well."

A bowler like Varun, I think, comes to the Indian team only with great luck - Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif further said that India are lucky to have someone like Varun Chakravarthy in the T20I setup as he is just like Jasprit Bumrah and can make instant impact in the match irrespective of how difficult the situation is. Kaif elaborated:

“A bowler like Varun Chakravarthy, I think, comes to the Indian team only with great luck. A captain is very lucky to have a bowler like him, regardless of the situation or the conditions. Just like with Bumrah, when the captain can say, take the ball and change the game with a spell, Varun has now come into that same league. You can say, Varun, take the ball and get wickets.”

“Varun has gone far ahead. If you talk about his control, earlier he used to bowl only the googly. Now he has learned leg spin as well. He knows that even if he gets hit for one or two balls, it’s okay, because he can get the batter out on the next ball. As a spinner, when you develop that belief in your bowling that even if you get hit it doesn’t matter because you can still take a wicket on the next delivery, that confidence is clearly visible in him,” he added.

Also Read: Why rest Jasprit Bumrah? Gautam Gambhir accused of bias as Mohammed Siraj plays non-stop