India spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Friday equated the standards of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to the IPL, while urging the players to participate in the domestic tournament to hone their T20 skills.
Chakravarthy, who starred in India's seven-wicket victory over England in the first T20I at Kolkata on Wednesday with figures of 3/23, highlighted how domestic cricket challenges players to adapt and think on their feet.
His words also resonated with the vision of India head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar on placing emphasis on domestic cricket.
Several star cricketers such as India skipper Rohit Sharma and mercurial wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant appeared for their respective domestic teams in the penultimate round of the Ranji Trophy.
"The level of domestic cricket is extremely high. I would say almost on par with IPL and the other international matches we play. So, I would suggest everyone to play the Syed Mushtaq Ali because we play on small grounds. It is very challenging," he said in Chennai on Friday, on eve of the second T20 International against England.
"I find it very tough playing SMAT. It has definitely helped me to get better, be more instinctive, be on my toes and think correctly at the right moment," he added.
It was no mere lip service as the 33-year-old was the second highest wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament this season with 18 wickets, besides grabbing nine wickets from seven matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament.
Detailing his preparation, Chakravarthy said he meticulously studies batters’ videos to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and recent shot-making tendencies.
"The first thing begins with preparation, looking at the batsmen's videos and what are their early shots and what shots they are looking to play, and have they added a new shot in their book.
"Definitely, I do that research. Based on the pitch, certain shots work and certain shots don't work. Based on that, I have a certain calculation in my mind and work around that," he explained.
His approach has also brought in rich dividends as Chakravarthy has taken 20 wickets in nine T20Is since making his comeback to the Indian team during the series against Bangladesh in October last year.
The Kolkata Knight Riders' spinner had to wait three years to make his return to the national side, but the rebuttal did not dishearten him.
"When I got dropped (in 2021), that gave me a lot of time to work on my mindset and my technique, re-change, and tweak many things about my bowling."
Now, he wants to exploit each and every opportunity that comes his way to further cement his place as one of India's main spinners in T20 cricket.
"My role is to just be aggressive, brave and keep bowling at the stumps. That has been my role. There is no added responsibility."
"GG (Gambhir) and Surya (Kumar Yadav) made sure that there was no external stress on the players. They keep the external noise away," he added.
This will be Chakravarthy's first international match at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai -- his home venue, and he was understandably delighted.
"Back to Chennai and the base is very important for me. I see it as a very important day for me. Playing for my country in front of my parents and the home crowd. It is very special for me," he stated.
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