Cricket
There was a time when he used to bamboozle the batsmen through his mystery deliveries, but now former India batter Kaif believes that once boundaries start flowing, a hint of panic creeps in for Varun Chakravarthy.
When Varun gets hit for back-to-back boundaries, he completely loses his rhythm, and instead of resetting, pressure slowly starts to build inside him.
Opponents are no longer waiting to respect the first ball of his spell. They are looking to target him from ball one and try to interrupt his rhythm.
"Many batters are now coming prepared, knowing exactly how to plan against him (Varun). That is where a slight problem can arise. I have noticed that when he gets hit for runs, he sometimes shows a bit of panic. You can see it in the way he reacts. Instead of sticking to his natural wicket-to-wicket length, he starts bowling at the pads.” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Mohammad Kaif also added that Varun has not used his leg spin effectively in this tournament, and hence, the batsmen have read him as an off-spinner and are looking to hit boundaries on the straight ball.
Kaif advised Varun to lean into his leg-spin and bowl outside off-stump to set up batters, saving the googly as a surprise weapon. If Varun relies solely on googlies, opponents may catch on. A smarter mix could help him regain his edge.