It's been a different Varun Chakravarthy since he has come back to international cricket: Suryakumar

Suryakumar Yadav praises Varun Chakravarthy's mental toughness and performance in T20 World Cup, emphasizing skill over all-rounders.

India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday said mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been a different player since his comeback to international cricket, for he has become mentally tougher and plays with a smile on his face.

Chakravarthy returned excellent figures of 5/42 in India's convincing victory over New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday, which helped the team to top their group on way to the semifinals of the tournament.

“The way he left in 2021 and the way he has come back, there are two different Varun Chakravarthys,” Suryakumar, the brand ambassador of Moha, told the media here at an event.

“He has become a little tough mentally, yet he is smiling a lot and taking everything in his stride irrespective of what happens on the field which is very good from a cricketer’s point of view.” The selection of Chakravarthy, who did not feature in the first two group matches, proved to be a masterstroke.

“I am really happy for him. He deserves everything (for) what he has been doing and all the recognition for what has been happening with him,” Suryakumar added.

“He has been a really hard working athlete since 2021; I have been watching him and have spoken with him a lot of times since he made his comeback to international cricket.”

Suryakumar said it is important for teams to pick players with specific skill set even though the focus has primarily been on all-rounders in the shortest format.