NEW DELHI: India’s so-called mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy arrived at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 carrying enormous expectations. Riding on sensational form and entering the tournament as the No.1 ranked bowler in the ICC T20I rankings, Varun was expected to be the trump card of India’s spin attack. His variations had troubled batters around the world and many believed he could play a decisive role in India’s title push. But what has unfolded in the second half of the tournament is deeply worrying for the Indian camp. India and England semi-final at Wankhede broke records that T20I cricket had never seen before The mystery spinner has endured a forgettable run in the last few matches. The most alarming outing came in the semifinal against England, where he conceded 63 runs in his 4 overs, a performance far below the standards expected from a bowler of his calibre. Dominant start in group stage Despite the recent struggles, Varun’s overall numbers still look impressive on paper. He is currently the joint highest wicket taker of the tournament with 13 wickets in eight matches. Most of that success came during the group stage where the spinner was nearly unplayable. Varun dominated the early phase of the competition, claiming 9 wickets while maintaining an outstanding economy rate of 5.17. Batters repeatedly struggled to pick his variations. His carrom balls, sliders and subtle changes in pace often left opposition line ups guessing. On several occasions he single handedly turned games in India’s favour. Super 8 phase raises concerns However, the picture has changed drastically since the Super 8 stage. In the last four matches, Varun has looked far less threatening. He has managed to take just 4 wickets while often bowling under heavy pressure. More worrying is the way the runs have started to flow against him. In these four games he has conceded runs at an economy rate of 11.63, a sharp contrast to the control he showed earlier in the tournament. Opposition batters now appear more comfortable reading his deliveries. Instead of being a wicket taking threat in the middle overs, Varun has occasionally found himself on the defensive. For a bowler who came into the tournament with the reputation of being unreadable, that shift has become a major talking point. Ashwin explains the mystery factor Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also addressed the issue on his YouTube channel. "Before this series started, in our preview, I said—and you'll remember—that we shouldn't expose Varun Chakaravarthy too much in the bilateral series." Ashwin suggested that frequent exposure gives batters time to study a bowler’s patterns and slowly understand the variations that once looked unreadable. "Whether people will pick Varun Chakaravarthy and play him... And I think it's quite a redundant question. It's only a matter of time before people start picking anybody. No bowler in the world can remain unreadable by batsmen forever."