You can never achieve perfection but that’s the only thing that will keep you running: Varun

Ever since his return to the national team in October 2024, Varun Chakaravarthy has been on a purple patch. The 33-year-old has quickly become India’s strike bowler in T20Is and could be a key cog in the Men in Blue’s title-defence campaign in next year’s T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Earlier this year, the mystery spinner also demonstrated his prowess in the ODI format as well and played a key part in India’s Champions Trophy triumph. After another productive IPL season where he took 17 wickets, Varun is back in the TNPL, trying out new variations to stay ahead of the batter. In a chat with The Hindu,  Varun spoke about his form, the three-year struggle to get back his place in the national team, and more.

Excerpts:

It has been a tremendous last year for you. How do you see this phase of your career, and do you feel you are at the peak of your form?

Nothing but gratitude for the people who stood by me and helped me. So I’d like to thank all of them. In another six or seven months, I might reach my peak. Still, there’s more work to be done, which is what I’m trying to work on in this TNPL so that I can try some new things. If I get one more (variation), which I am trying, I will be very happy.

You had another successful season in the IPL, taking the most wickets for KKR. It was also the first time you came into an IPL after playing a lot of international cricket. How was it in terms of your game and also your workload?

Regarding the workload, not much, but just the mental aspect of it. I played the full domestic season, and I was at home for probably just 10 days over the last seven months. Other than that, it’s fine and I can’t complain at all. I love what’s coming my way and I have to take it with both hands.

It wasn’t tough in the IPL, I feel IPL can sometimes be tougher than international cricket. However, it gets tougher when you play domestic cricket, as sometimes the fatigue sets in. I train three to four times a week nowadays, which helps keep my body fit. For the last seven months, I have been playing continuous cricket, and thankfully, I have no injuries. I’m used to the schedule now, and I feel that by the time the next T20 World Cup comes, I will be even fitter. So, I am ready for the challenges.

Can you discuss the effort you’ve put into your fitness? You started late and weren’t the fittest or most agile cricketer, but you seem to have gotten better.

Yeah, it was a holistic approach. First thing, I had to cut down on my unwanted food-eating habits. So nutrition was the most important thing, and then hitting the gym three or four times a week. I have not trained with a single person so far, because every team has had a different trainer. I had to find my way through, which was challenging, but I was able to do it. I know what works for me and what doesn’t, so I communicate with them and take it forward. I am also running constantly, so if I get a two or three-day break between matches, I make sure to run on one of those days. It’s more about making my lifestyle as a cricketer, rather than just doing it as practice time.

How was it being part of the Champions Trophy-winning squad, and you played your part in the triumph as well?

Yeah, it’s the biggest blessing, I think, that I’ve got for whatever I had to go through in the last three years when I was not recognised. Once I was dropped from the team, I felt that I had put in too much work, but I didn’t have a clear direction. I have to give credit where it’s due – definitely to GG sir (Gautam Gambhir) and the captains, who backed me. I performed well in the T20 series, and then I was introduced to the ODI
setup. Rohit Sharma also played a role in getting me into the team. It just felt like life came full circle at that same venue. I just wish I could turn up like that for the country again and again and keep making everyone proud.

You were seen as a largely T20 bowler, so how did you find the transition to ODI cricket?

I have always done well in the 50-over format for TN. In the three seasons I’ve played in the Vijay Hazare, I’ve always been among the top two highest wicket takers in the country, so it has always gone well for me. So, one-day cricket was never a doubt for me. I always knew that I could do it. I know that once the ball softens and becomes rougher, I can get more grip and turn, and if the batters miss it, I can take wickets. In T20, you don’t get time to set up a batter, but in ODI, I get that. I can bowl five incoming deliveries, and one away, or four outgoing deliveries, and one in. I can’t do that in T20, because I will get predictable.

You are largely self-taught in the sense that you didn’t go through the rigours of age-group cricket and more systemic coaching. How did it help or affect your ability to make a comeback?

Yes, because I started everything by myself, even now, the thinking part and the direction part are where I have to be involved; everything I do is on my own. When I needed help, I did fall back on A.C. Prathiban and, obviously, Abhishek Nayar, who has been my mentor and helps me with the mental aspect of it. But other than this, the key decisions I take. If I have to develop variations or not, I take all those things into consideration. I put it in front of my coach, AC (Prathiban), and he gets to see if it’s working or not, so that’s how our partnership has been. My mind is always working around the clock to improve. Even here in TNPL, I’ve come to try certain variations.

What is the key to the success of being a mystery spinner, and how to stay ahead of the batter?

I think it’s mainly about the sequencing of the deliveries. I can bowl three away going and one incoming, or one straight, two incomings, one away going. It’s about how I’m mixing up, how I’m sequencing the ball. The skill is there, but how you use it is the main thing, because there are many people with the skill. You must be highly accurate in all those deliveries. I know that I have to be perfect.

However, the fact is that perfection is an illusion (maya). You can never achieve perfection, but that’s the only thing that will keep you running; you will never be satisfied, so it is a double-edged sword. That’s how it works, too. Even though I know I won’t be perfect at all, I keep chasing it.

From your breakthrough in 2018, you made the national team in three years. However, once dropped, it took another three years to get back your place. Which was tougher?

Yeah, my comeback was a lot tougher because I had tasted the forbidden fruit once, so I wanted to taste it again. Once I was dropped from the team, I knew the way, but there were more obstacles this time. The first time I came through, it was through word of mouth.

However, the second time, I had to cross and convince many people, breaking many perceptions about me. Even the training regime, I used to get up by 5:30 a.m., go for practice, not knowing when I would get the call. When you say I got the call after three years, but I didn’t think I would get that call after three years. So I just kept on doing my thing.

Since 2023, you have been performing well in the IPL and for TN whenever you have played. Did it affect that you didn’t get a callback?

Yes, that’s what made me feel that I wasn’t being considered at all. That’s what I thought, because I was performing well in the IPL and domestic cricket as well. But God’s grace, God’s plan… (I got back).

You have now found a second wind in your career. How much of it is developing new skills, and how much of it is just mental adjustments or refinements?

When you first come onto the scene, a perception is created about you, and people start getting used to it. Then you have to break that perception. You can only break that perception when you develop other specific skills. I feel it’s the toughest, but that’s when you’ll have a longer run. The second time, it is like breaking your own identity and becoming a new person, but it is much more enduring. You must have the courage to unlearn many things.