IPL 2023: Varun Chakaravarthy has clarity on how he's going to target each batter, says Abhishek Nayar

Chennai, May 15 (IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar stated that leg-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy has now got the clarity of how he plans to target every batter in preparation for his team's matches in IPL 2023.

At MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, Chakaravarthy out-spun Chennai Super Kings' spinners to pick 2/36 in his four overs. Co-incidentally, the leg-spinner was a net bowler for Chennai in 2018, before now becoming a mainstay with Kolkata and looking at peak of his powers, especially after taking just six wickets in IPL 2022.

"After last season, we discussed quite a bit on what we thought went wrong and also I think when you play season after season, teams tend to target you differently. One of things we tried to do throughout the off-season and throughout the season was to understand the challenges we were going to face. There is a stark difference in terms of how he's using his deliveries - using the one that goes away (leg-break) a lot more than he was doing last year," said Nayar in the post-match press conference.

Nayar further elaborated on how Chakaravarthy put in the hard yards to be a lethal spinner for Kolkata in IPL 2023, where he's picked 19 wickets in 13 matches at an economy rate of 8.03.

"So, a lot of work went in not just technically and tactically but also understanding his mindset in terms of understanding how individuals are going to target him. I think last year when he didn't have a great season, the ways in which every team was targeting him and certain areas where they constantly hit him. I think once we analysed and understood that, we obviously spoke about getting revs on the ball and getting more bounce and speed off the pitch… but also understanding which areas teams are going to target him."

"We played at Eden Gardens, a smaller ground, where it is tougher for a bowler, and last time we were in Mumbai. Yes, he has been challenged, but a lot of hard work he has put in at the (Kolkata Knight Riders) academy over the whole season and not just prior to the IPL season. That has helped him in his preparation and in terms of clarity how he's going to target each batsman or how he's going to be targeted by each batsman," he added.

Nayar also heaped praise on veteran off-spinner Sunil Narine for bouncing back with figures of 2/15 in his four overs, especially after taking just one wickets in his last nine games prior to Sunday's game.

"The beauty about Sunil Narine is that he doesn't talk a lot. He understands his skills and understands that playing for so many years, he knows what went wrong. The conversations are more about his preparations for the upcoming game and the speeds he is bowling at."

"The experience and the calibre of Sunil Narine is that you always expect him to come back. We always believed that he would come back, and it was just about time when he does more than anything," he concluded.

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