India’s mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy says the extra pace and revolutions he has added to his deliveries are beginning to pay rich dividends.

Currently ranked the world’s No. 1 T20I bowler, Chakaravarthy revealed that his focus has been less on inventing new variations and more on refining what he already possesses.

“I’ve definitely worked on a few aspects of my bowling: speed, more speed, and more revs on the ball. Many bowlers focus on adding new variations, but I worked on perfecting my existing deliveries. That has helped a lot,” he said after India’s 93-run win over Namibia in the T20 World Cup on Thursday.

Earlier in his career, Chakaravarthy had spoken about switching from side-spin to over-spin, a change that significantly boosted his effectiveness. The numbers reflect his impact: 63 wickets in 38 T20Is at an impressive average of 15.19 and an economy rate of 7.06.

Against Namibia, he once again showcased his control and deception, claiming three wickets in just two overs. He struck with a googly off his very first ball, dismissing opener Louren Steenkamp.

Chakaravarthy has also tweaked his follow-through, helping him extract more zip from the surface. Despite his success, he continues to experiment in the nets.

“That has always been my process. I usually have some new deliveries coming up. If I’m courageous enough, I might try it in the next match, but it depends,” he said. “Some variations clicked immediately in matches, while others I’ve been working on for six years haven’t quite come off.”

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The spinner admitted he was slightly surprised by the nature of the pitches in Mumbai and Delhi during the tournament, especially after playing on flat tracks in the lead-up series.

“The bilaterals before the World Cup were all very flat. These wickets have been a bit surprising. Today, it was keeping low, though there wasn’t a lot of turn. But we have to adapt to whatever comes our way,” he explained.

Looking ahead to the clash against Pakistan in Colombo, Chakaravarthy expects dew to be a key factor.

“Dew does play a big role, especially when defending. There was a lot of dew today too, but we managed well. We’re experienced because we play a lot of IPL cricket, so we know how to handle those conditions,” he said.

He also praised Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus for his tactical nous and inventive bowling angles.

“He bowled very tactically. The way they planned their bowling showed a lot of thought. In the last four overs especially, they had precise plans and executed them well. They clearly did good research,” Chakaravarthy added.