Varun Chakravarthy vs Abrar Ahmed: A fascinating contest of mystery spin and control ahead of the high-stakes IND vs PAK clash.
Post the T20 World Cup 2024, Varun Chakravarthy is India’s most successful T20I bowler. The leg spinner has picked up 61 wickets in 30 innings at an average of 13.52. His strike rate of 11.11 is fabulous at an economy rate of just 7.30. Out of his 113 overs, Chakravarthy has bowled 288 dots at a percentage of 42.47, which creates incredible pressure on the batters.
In that same period, Abrar Ahmed has the most T20I wickets for Pakistan. In 33 innings, the 27-year-old has collected 47 wickets at an average of 16.94 and an impressive strike rate of 15.36. His economy rate of 6.61 is equally incredible. Meanwhile, his dot ball percentage of 44.18 is a little above that of Chakravarthy.
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed’s T20I performance analysis since July 2024
After the T20 WC 2024, both Chakravarthy and Abrar have picked up nine wickets inside the powerplay (1-6). The Tamil Nadu spinner’s average of 16.10 is far better than Abrar’s 25 in this phase. Even the economy rate of 8.65 for the Karachi spinner is more expensive than Chakravarthy’s 6.90.
Read More: Top 3 spinners in powerplay phase of T20Is since T20 WC 2024 (from full-member nations)
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed’s T20I powerplay (1-6) performance since July 2024
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | Eco | 4s/6s | Dot% |
| V Chakravarthy | 21 | 09 | 16.10 | 14.0 | 6.90 | 17/05 | 50.8 |
| A Ahmed | 18 | 09 | 25.00 | 17.3 | 8.65 | 21/13 | 50.6 |
During the same period, Abrar’s middle overs (7-15) economy of 5.96 is extraordinary. However, he has bagged only 27 T20I wickets in 32 innings in this phase, which indicates that batters don’t take many chances against the spinner. Subsequently, Chakravarthy has a strike rate of 10.80 in the middle overs for his 44 wickets in just 30 T20I innings.
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed’s T20I middle-over (7-15) performance since July 2024
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | Eco | 4s/6s | Dot% |
| V Chakravarthy | 30 | 44 | 13.40 | 10.8 | 7.47 | 26/37 | 40.5 |
| A Ahmed | 32 | 27 | 16.80 | 16.9 | 5.96 | 24/19 | 43.8 |
Death overs (16-20) are not a suitable period to bowl for the spinners. But both these bowlers have done a great job in the last five overs. Post the T20 WC 2024, both Abrar and Chakravarthy have an economy rate of under seven in the death overs.
Read More: Top 5 economical bowlers to watch out for in T20 World Cup 2026
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed’s T20I death-over performance since July 2024
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | Eco | 4s/6s | Dot% |
| V Chakravarthy | 12 | 08 | 11.20 | 9.80 | 6.92 | 01/08 | 50.0 |
| A Ahmed | 14 | 11 | 10.60 | 9.90 | 6.44 | 04/06 | 47.70 |
In victories, the Tamil Nadu spinner has an average of 15.60 for 47 T20I wickets since July 2024. On the other hand, Abrar’s economy of 5.93 for 36 wickets in Pakistan’s wins reflects how much the team relies on the leg spinner.
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed’s T20I performance since July 2024 in victories
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | Eco | 4s/6s | Dot% |
| V Chakravarthy | 26 | 47 | 15.60 | 12.4 | 7.55 | 39/46 | 42.80 |
| A Ahmed | 22 | 36 | 13.20 | 13.4 | 5.93 | 34/19 | 49.30 |
Post T20 WC, Varun Chakravarthy has picked up 3+ wickets in a T20I innings seven times. And India have earned victories in five out of those seven matches.
On the other hand, Abrar has collected 3+ wickets in a T20I innings six times since July 2024. And Pakistan have won five of those six matches, which shows how crucial the leg spinner’s contribution has been.
Post the T20 WC 2024, Chakravarthy has picked up 56 T20I wickets in 27 innings against the Test-playing nations. He also carries a mind-blowing strike rate of 11.20 and an economy rate of 7.52 in this process. Meanwhile, Abrar has done a decent job against the full members with 47 T20I wickets at an economy rate of 7.04.
Read More: Bowling numbers across T20s at the 5 Indian venues of T20 WC 2026
Varun Chakravarthy & Abrar Ahmed’s T20I performance against Test-playing nations post T20 WC 2024
| Player | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | Eco | 4W/5W | BBI |
| V Chakravarthy | 27 | 56 | 14.10 | 11.20 | 7.52 | 01/02 | 5/17 |
| A Ahmed | 28 | 37 | 19.16 | 16.30 | 7.04 | 00/00 | 3/14 |
Varun Chakravarthy and Abrar Ahmed continue sharp performance in T20 WC 2026
Chakravarthy has collected four wickets so far in the T20 World Cup 2026 at an economy rate of just 5.16. India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, has used the leg spinner beautifully by introducing him into the attack whenever they feel the pressure.
Against Namibia, the blue brigade leaked 67-1 in seven overs. There is no prize for guessing who Sky brought into the attack at that moment. Chakravarthy, on his very first ball of the spell, went through the defense of Louren Steenkamp. It was a tossed up googly as the batter made room slightly to create a gap, which was enough for the ball to sneak through and break the stumps.
In his second over of the fixture, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) spinner collected two more wickets and blew away the opponent’s middle order. India hope to see the 34-year-old continuing the fabulous form in this competition.
Meanwhile, Abrar has bagged three wickets at 17.66 in the ongoing T20 WC 2026. He also made an early impact when Salman Ali Agha used him in the eighth over against Netherlands. The 27-year-old took two vital wickets of Colin Ackermann and the opponent captain, Scott Edwards.
Both Chakravarthy and Abrar will be up against each other when India face Pakistan on February 15. At the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, both spinners will use their bag of tricks against the opponent batters. And as it happens on most occasions, it will boil down to who holds the pressure better that evening.
Read More: Premadasa Pitch Puzzle: What should be India’s strategy against Pakistan on February 15?
