Varun Chakravarthy of the Kolkata Knight Riders had a heartfelt effort that won him player of the match honors on Wednesday night in IPL 2023, dedicating it to his wife Neha and baby kid Aathman.
“I'd like to credit this (performance) to my newborn son, still unable to see him, and I'd like to dedicate it to him and my wife,” a soft-spoken Chakravarthy said to the presenter after receiving his award for taking three wickets and helping KKR defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 21 runs.
When Harsha Bhogle enquired as to when he would be able to visit his family once again, Chakravarthy showed signs of emotion.
The KKR star retorted, “After the IPL.”
For KKR, Chakravarthy has excelled.
He is now third on the list of the best wicket-takers of the current season after taking 13 wickets in his first eight games.
It's interesting that seven of his victims have been RCB.
The 31-year-old said, “More focused on my accuracy rather than more variations,” when asked what he had been focusing on in the run-up to the season. I decided it was time to be exact since I didn't want to introduce any more variants. I have thus been working on it.
In addition, Chakravarthy acknowledged the assistance of Tamil Nadu spinner AC Prathiban and KKR assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in improving his bowling.
“I've been working hard, and I want to thank AC Prathiban for helping me, as well as Abhishek Nayar. I want to thank them for it, he remarked.
In the Powerplay, Chakravarthy has been enjoying the challenge of bowling.
“I like a challenge, and Nitish (Rana) always gives me the ball when he needs me to do a task. Therefore, I like it,” he replied.
With the victory, KKR has moved up to position seven in the standings and will now play Gujarat Titans, the reigning champions, at Eden Gardens.
