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Former India pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji has advised captain Suryakumar Yadav to use Varun Chakravarthy late, not in powerplay overs, to help him regain confidence. In the last two games, Chakravarthy has went for plenty of runs and picked up one wicket each. Balaji feels having the field spread out will help Chakravarthy. He wants Suryakumar to use his services in the powerplay overs for just one over if need be.
"In T20s, if you bowl in the powerplay as a spinner, batters will take you on. Though he has performed over a period of time, to earn back his confidence, he should bowl predominantly outside the powerplay. If they are under pressure, he can maybe be risked to bowl one over in the powerplay. But bowling at least three overs outside the powerplay will help him regain confidence," Balaji said on Star Sports.
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Balaji wants Chakravarthy to bowl at middle and lower-order batters of West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The former pacer feels that it will also give the mystery spinner the option to bowl slower through the air.
"As a captain, I would introduce Varun Chakravarthy late. I will keep at least two overs of his for late in the innings against the likes of Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, and Sherfane Rutherford. When Varun bowls against these batters, he will have the backing of the field set, and he can bowl slower through the air as well," said the 44-year-old.
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Chakravarthy is still India's leading wicket-taker in the ongoing edition, claiming 11 wickets from six games at an average of 13.09. Despite leaking boundaries in last two games, his economy rate in the tournament is 7.20 runs per over.
Chakravarthy or Kuldeep against West Indies in playing XI?
This will be the first time Chakravarthy will play against West Indies. However, he has bowled to Caribbean batters in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Meanwhile, the team management face a conundrum whether to go with him or bring back Kuldeep Yadav back to the side. The left-arm chinaman has most wickets for India against West Indies in the format. From nine T20Is against West Indies, he has 17 wickets at an average of 13.41. His economy rate against them is an impressive 6.33 runs per over.
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