India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign gained momentum with a comprehensive victory over Namibia, powered by a dominant batting effort and disciplined bowling. Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Haier Match Centre Live’, India spinner Varun Chakravarthy spoke about his bowling and preparations for Pakistan, while JioStar experts Abhishek Nayar and Irfan Pathan shared insights on Abhishek Sharma’s importance and Ishan Kishan’s innings.
Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Haier Match Centre Live’, India spinner Varun Chakravarthy spoke about how he has refined his bowling at the international level:
“At the international level, I don’t have the space to get my rhythm back. I need to be in rhythm from the very first ball. I’ve been working on that for a long time because I don’t want my first ball to be an easy one. From ball one, I have to be on target. I’ve also worked on making my variations quicker so that batters have less time to react. I’m working on my overspin. When the overspin comes out correctly, there is zip off the wicket and the ball skids off the pitch.”
On facing Pakistan and India’s preparation:
“We have a strong spin attack, and I feel we have the edge over them. They are playing in these conditions back-to-back, so they might have an advantage in terms of familiarity. But as a group, we have had the better of them, and we are well prepared. Whenever you are playing any opponent in a World Cup, you need to keep your confidence high. You have to believe that you are the best in the world, that’s when you deliver in the biggest moments.”
JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar highlighted the value Abhishek Sharma brings, particularly against spin in the Powerplay:
“In the Powerplay, you know what he can do against spin, he loves playing spin. His strike-rate against both, spin and pace, is high, and he loves using his feet. Interestingly, his reputation always precedes him because you expect him to do something special. As a bowler, that changes your mindset completely. In T20 cricket, especially in unfamiliar conditions, you can’t go in with premeditated notions that the ball will turn or behave a certain way. You need to assess the situation, be aware, and adapt. Over the last two years, this team has done so many things right. They shouldn’t worry too much about the conditions, they should focus on playing what’s in front of them.”
JioStar expert Irfan Pathan analysed Ishan Kishan’s knock and Namibia’s bowling approach:
“He plays the short ball really well and has a lot of time while playing it. He looked very confident. Since his comeback, he has scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket, and he carried that form here. The only thing I was disappointed with in Namibia’s bowling was that they didn’t make him play enough on the off side. If you look at the wagon wheel, the majority of his runs came on the leg side, starting from long-on, and that’s his strength. He plays to his strengths to great effect. Now that he has worked on his off-side game as well, even if you try to challenge him there, he’ll be ready. But you have to challenge batters, and Namibia’s bowlers didn’t do that. He took full advantage.”
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