"Opponents have to study him before counter attacking": Pandit on Varun

Kolkata Knight Riders KKR head coach Chandrakant Pandit reckons his mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy Indiarsquos hero in the just concluded ICC Champions Trophy at Dubai will continue being a massive threat to batters in the upcoming IPL18Defending champions KKR play Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening game of the tournament at the Eden Gardens on March 22ldquoThe way Varun has been bowling and he has bowled in the Champions Trophy he could be a threat for the batters in the IPL They opponents have to study him before counter attacking be a little patient They will have to be careful or need to study him wellrdquo Pandit told midday from Kolkata on TuesdayAlso Read Champions Trophy 2025 Rohit Sharma returns home a week before IPLChandrakant PanditChakravarthy 33 who was not part of Indiarsquos initial squad for the ICC event ended the tournament as Indiarsquos highest wickettaker with nine scalps along with pacer Mohammed ShamildquoI was not surprised at Chakravarthyrsquos performance in the CT because he has that calibre to deliver on any surface Indian Team management always looks at a combination and once they understand the surface and the conditions it helps them make the combination I think Rohit Sharma as captain must have felt that Varun will be the ideal bowler for that Dubai surfacerdquo Pandit remarkedWhile Rohit amp Co found it difficult to tackle Chakravarthy at net sessions Pandit admitted that even KKR batters didnrsquot have it easy ldquoVarun has always been a bowler to watch even in the nets KKR batters mdash overseas or Indian mdash have been practising against him but they always take a couple of days to settle down with himrdquo remarked the former India wicketkeeperbatsmanChakravarthy made his CT debut in the league game against New Zealand on March 2 claiming a matchwinning 542 He returned figures of 245 against the Kiwis in the decider on SundayRecalling his first meeting with Chakravarthy at a KKR camp Pandit said ldquoI met him for the first time in Mumbai three years ago when Abhishek Nayar then KKR assistant coach was conducting a camp for some of the Indian players at the Dilip Vengsarkar Academy in Mahul I noticed that he has wonderful skills which I had already seen on television When I saw him he was still working on his skills and it was very difficult to read him I thought then that hersquod be a very tough bowler to face on any helpful wicketrdquoChakravarthy emerged the second highest wickettaker with 21 scalps in IPL17 after Punjab Kings pacer Harshal Patel 24 wickets Pandit felt Chakravarthy will be his key bowler in IPL18 as wellldquoWe used him in crucial stages Sometimes we had him bowl in the Powerplay and at other times at the death He will be one of our key bowlers in the upcoming IPLrdquo Pandit added