Ever-improving Varun Chakravarthy excited for Virat Kohli in IPL 2025 opener-OxBig News Network

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders take on Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match of the Indian Premier League on Saturday, March 22. Kolkata’s talismanic spin-bowling duo – Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine – will once again be under focus as Kolkata looks to begin their title defense in style.

Speaking ahead of the IPL opener, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy said that he was looking forward to the battle against Virat Kohli in the first game of the season. Varun, who has been in sensational form since his comeback to the national team, would be riding high on confidence.

“Definitely excited to be coming up against Virat. Obviously, he’s batted well against me, and I would like to do well against him also,” Varun Chakravarthy said in the pre-match press conference.

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Varun has picked up 31 wickets since his comeback in the T20I format. The spinner has struck at a mind-boggling strike rate of 8.9 in his last 12 games and is riding high on confidence. The spin duo of Varun and Narine is a dangerous prospect for any team in the tournament. And considering that both players are confident after winning the title last season, it might just add more zip to their bowling on Saturday.

Varun also spoke highly of his teammate Sunil Narine, saying, “He’s a legend of the game, one of the greats. We had a few conversations this year, and he looks very well-prepared. He looks to take on the IPL just like how he did last year.”

He further added on the tactical adjustments he would like to make this season. Varun said that he would look to improve his packaging this season.

“The ball can deviate only in three ways – it can go left, right, or straight. It just depends on how I’m going to choose the sequencing, if I’m going to go off-spin right now or leg-spin right now. That’s where the tactical side of the game comes in, and that’s where I’m trying to improve,” concluded Varun.