Varun Chakaravarthy's confidence goes down once he gets attacked, says Ashwin

Ashwin, ahead of India's title defence of the T20 World Cup against New Zealand, suggested that Chakaravarthy should not bowl from round the wicket to the left-hander.

Ashwin's remarks come after India entered the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 after defeating England by seven runs in the semi-final held at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Chakaravarthy recorded an unwanted record during the match.

Chakaravarthy conceded 64 runs and took only one wicket while India defended a mammoth total of 253 runs. It was the joint-second-most expensive bowling spell in a T20 World Cup match. He joined Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, who recorded the bowling figures of 0/64 against Pakistan in Johannesburg in 2007.

"What is happening with Varun is not that teams are attacking him or picking him. Everyone knows that Adil Rashid has a googly. This happens with every cricketer. But if this happens, you have to be tactical. You cannot miss the lengths. Line and length variations with speed variations are important. Varun has to be spoken to," Ashwin said on 'Ash ki Baat'. "Every time he gets attacked upfront, the confidence is going down further, because he knows he is catching up. I am tired of saying this again and again. From the last few games, I am saying this. Do not bowl from round the wicket to the left-hander," he added.

The worst-ever bowling figure in a T20 World Cup match was recorded in this tournament when Saurabh Netravalkar of the USA finished with 0/65 against the defending champions India.

Chakravarthy now has the joint second-most expensive returns for India in all T20Is after 0/68 by Prasidh Krishna against Australia (Guwahati, 2023) and alongside 0/64 for Yuzvendra Chahal vs South Africa (Durban, 2018).

Defending champions India and New Zealand are set to face each other in the final of the T20 World Cup on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The two teams also made it to the final of the Champions Trophy in 2025 and, almost exactly a year later, will again lock horns in the summit clash of an ICC event. (ANI)