Varun Chakravarthy’s late inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy squad proved to be an X-factor for the team in the eight-team competition, which came to a grand conclusion with the Rohit Sharma-led side lifting the title in Dubai last Sunday. Chakravarthy was arguably India’s best bowler as he picked nine wickets, tournament’s second best tally, in just three matches. He took 2-45 in the final against New Zealand, helping India restrict New Zealand to 251/7, a total which the team chased down in 49 overs.
While Chakravarthy’s is known for his calm demeanour on the pitch, his latest social media post gave fans a sneak peek of his humorous side off-the-field.
Taking to Instagram on Monday, Chakravarthy took a swipe at critics who claimed India won the tournament thanks to an undue advantage of playing all their matches in Dubai.
“A lot of distance was travelled to get a taste of this Cup,” Chakravarthy captioned the post with a couple of winking emojis.
After the final, Chakravarthy admitted that it was a “dream come true” campaign for him.
“I didn’t expect to turn out like this, a dream come true. The spin was less in the first innings, and I had to be disciplined, just stick to the basics,” Chakravarthy told the broadcasters after the match.
Chakravarthy was one of the six Indian players to make the cut in ICC’s Team of the Tournament.
Virat Kohli was the biggest name among six Indian players picked in the 12-member ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the Champions Trophy.
Besides Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, Chakravarthy and pacer Mohammed Shami featured in the playing XI, while all-rounder Axar Patel was named the 12th man.
New Zealand four members of their squad making the team, including Player of the Tournament Rachin Ravindra, with Mitchell Santner being named captain.
Two players from Afghanistan also made the cut after the Asian nation won their first-ever ICC Men’s Champions Trophy match in their debut appearance.
India captain Rohit Sharma stressed that every player in the Indian squad is aware of their role and executes it with precision.
“Every player in our squad knows exactly what is expected of them and how to execute their role. When other teams watch us play, I want them to recognize our resilience and belief–the mindset that we can win from any situation,” he stated.
(With Agency Inputs)
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