'Bowl your natural length' - Irfan Pathan's advice to Varun Chakravarthy ahead of semi-final clash against England

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has suggested spinner Varun Chakravarthy to alter his line and length to become a wicket-taking threat against England during the T20 World Cup semi-final on Thursday, March 5.

Pathan, who has 24 T20I caps for India, stated that the batters are taking advantage of Chakravarthy’s short pitch bowling by using the depth of the crease and playing shots off their backfoot. The 41-year-old wants the mystery spinner to aim for the stumps and avoid giving the batters room without bowling too straight. 

"I've been saying this from the start, don't ask him to bowl short. I've seen some visuals of the practice. Let him bowl at his natural length. The batters are standing deeper in the crease against Varun Chakravarthy to play the cut and pull. When he is trying to bowl full, they are using their feet against him and hitting straight as well. Varun Chakravarthy has been put under pressure by teams. I believe that it is important for him to bowl the length that hits the top of the stumps right from the first ball,” said Pathan on his YouTube channel. 

Despite his shortcomings in recent games, Pathan still believes that Chakravarthy holds the key to India’s success against England at the Wankhede Stadium based on their batter’s struggles against the turning ball. 

"The first six balls will be crucial for him, and if he does that, his match-ups against Harry Brook and the rest of the English batters who struggle against spin will become dangerous. If there is some help for spinners on this pitch, his four overs will be like gold dust," he added. 

Spin to take centre stage during India against England

Despite his recent struggles, Chakravarthy remains India’s leading wicket-taker in this year’s T20 World Cup. The 34-year-old spinner has taken 12 wickets in the tournament at an average of 15.33. 

The semi-final between India and England is expected to be a battle of the spinners with both sides possessing some quality in the department. Whilst the Men in Blue have the likes of Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, Brook’s team has relied on Adil Rashid, Liam Dawson, and Will Jacks for wickets in this tournament.