Ashwin lashes out at Varun Chakravarthy, issues warning before final

R Ashwin has strongly criticised Varun Chakravarthy for bowling the most expensive spell against England. He stated that batsmen attacking early reduces his confidence.

R Ashwin on Varun Chakravarthy: India secured a spot in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating England by seven runs in the second semi-final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Team India will now face New Zealand in the summit clash on Sunday. Varun Chakravarthy proved quite expensive against England, and India barely managed to defend a total of 253 runs. Ahead of the final, veteran spin all-rounder R Ashwin has strongly criticised Varun, issuing a warning as well.

Joint Second Most Expensive Bowling Spell in T20 World Cup Match

Varun Chakravarthy conceded 64 runs and took one wicket against England. This is the joint second most expensive bowling spell in a T20 World Cup match. He equalled Sanath Jayasuriya's record, who scored 0/64 for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in Johannesburg in 2007. Ashwin stated that Varun's confidence drops when batsmen attack him early in his spell.

'Line and Length Variation Along with Speed Variation is Necessary'

In 'Ash Ki Baat', Ashwin said that what is happening with Varun is not that teams are attacking him or picking him. Everyone knows Adil Rashid has the googly. It is normal for teams to attack or read a bowler. This happens with every cricketer. However, if this happens, you have to be tactical. You cannot miss the length. Line and length variation along with speed variation is necessary. He needs to talk about this.

'I Am Tired of Saying This Repeatedly'

Ravichandran Ashwin said that every time Varun was attacked, his confidence diminished further and added that he was tired of repeating the same point. Ashwin said he had been stressing the same thing over the last few games — don't bowl ’round the wicket to left-handers.

Bowler with the Second Most Expensive Bowling Figures for India

It is worth noting that the most expensive bowling figures in a T20 World Cup match were also recorded in this edition when USA's Saurabh Netravalkar returned figures of 0/65 against India. Chakravarthy has now become the bowler with the second-most-expensive bowling figures for India in all T20 Internationals. Earlier, this ignominious record was held by Prasidh Krishna, who registered figures of 0/68 against Australia in Guwahati in 2023. Yuzvendra Chahal also holds the record of 0/64 against South Africa in Durban in 2018.

Second ICC Final Against New Zealand in a Year

India will face New Zealand in the tournament final on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Both teams had also reached the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and will clash in the final of an ICC tournament again after almost a year.