Former India cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath hailed Varun Chakravarthy for his recent performances in T20Is and said that he is a more valuable bowler than Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to the shortest format. Chakravarthy picked up five wickets in as many matches against Australia in the recently-concluded T20I series. He maintained a brilliant economy-rate of 6.83 and caused a lot of problems for Australian batters on the crease.
Chakravarthy is also the No.1 ranked T20I bowler as of current and has so far picked up 45 wickets in the 29 T20Is he has played in his career. He has been a key figure in the Men in Blue's T20I set-up for some time now, but hasn't been given many chances in the ODI format and hasn't played any Test cricket so far for the national team.
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Badrinath stated that the 34-year-old has been bowling at a different level ever since making his comeback to the team and has proven to be one of if not the team's most important bowler in T20Is.
"Numbers tell us that Varun Chakaravarthy is the No. 1 T20 bowler in the world. He is more valuable than even Bumrah. Whenever the runs are flowing in the powerplay or the middle overs or even in the 18th over, Varun is the go-to bowler. He has gone to a different level with his game. A superb comeback after being given a chance initially and getting dropped because of fitness. But in this second phase after his comeback, he has taken his game to the next level," Badrinath said on Star Sports.
Chakravarthy expected to play important role in T20 WC
Badrinath further went on to say that Chakravarthy will be a crucial player for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup and added that the team's results will depend a lot on the spinner's performance during the tournament.
"He's a huge asset for India, in fact, even a weapon. Going forward, with the T20 World Cup in India, he will be the most crucial factor. If Varun has a good day, there is a great chance the Indian team will have a good day," Badrinath stated.
Chakravarthy has been phenomenal since T20I return
Notably, Chakravarthy had made his return to the team in late 2024 after being absent for three years. Since then, he has played a total of 23 matches and has picked up 43 wickets. The spinner has been nothing short of terrific in the recent bassignments and will be looking to maintain this form in the 2026 T20 World Cup.