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Chakaravarthy Will Be 'awkward' To Face On Bouncy New Zealand Pitches: Shane Bond

Former New Zealand: Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond believes wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy will be an awkward proposition to deal with for New Zealand's batters when the T20I series starts in Christchurch on Thursday because of the extra bounce in early season pitches, despite conditions expected to favour pacers. Chakaravarthy, who has picked 75 wickets in 49 games, returned to Indias T20I squad for the five-game series in New Zealand after recovering from a side strain sustained after playing the first game of the T20I series against Afghanistan in New Delhi last month, following an earlier recovery from a hamstring issue. The side strain injury led to Chakaravarthy being sidelined for the one-off match against Japan and the Asian Games. It remains to be seen how India fit Chakaravarthy in the playing eleven, especially with other spin-bowling options- Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Naman Dhir- in the mix. It's good to see Chakravarthy back in. He's something that's completely different and unique. Quality bowler, I've seen so much of him in the IPL and he's been such a stalwart for KKR. He's just so different and because of the bounce here in New Zealand too, he'll be awkward to deal with. India have always just had great frontline spin bowlers. So the two teams have got quality across both sides and those spinners battles with Santner obviously for New Zealand and the likes of Chakravarthy for India are still important even in conditions that you think are going to favour fast bowling, Bond told IANS in an exclusive conversation. He also backed teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, whom Bond saw from the closest quarters as part of Rajasthan Royals (RR) coaching staff in the IPL, to get game time in New Zealand. Since the T20I series win over Zimbabwe in July, Vaibhav has played two games during the Asian Games gold medal-winning campaign in Japan, as India have largely preferred Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as their first-choice opening pair. I'm looking forward to seeing Vaibhav. He's just such an incredible talent, and he's a great kid as well. It's awesome for him to be travelling with the Indian team and he deserves his spot in the side. He was the standout player in the IPL this year. He was just sensational, and it's hard to ignore that sort of talent, not only the talent, but the production of shots from him and what a devastating player he can be, added Bond. He also acknowledged the tough competition Sooryavanshi is facing to get into the playing eleven. He's earned his spot, but there are some quality players in that squad and for Vaibhav to be coming to play in a place like New Zealand, experiencing the training conditions, everything that goes with being here, I'd be hoping that he would come on a number of tours here and play some games. But even if he doesn't, he's better prepared for the next time, as he knows what he's walking into. He's such a good player. He's one of those players who puts fear into other teams and part of him is just, again, adapting to conditions that are slightly different. But he's so good, there's no doubt that he'll do that and the New Zealand public will be really excited to see him play and I hope he's playing on Thursday night. India are without injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whos been out of action since IPL 2026 due to recurring injuries, and Bond hoped to see him back on the field in the foreseeable future. Obviously it's a shame Hardik's not here. He's such a great player and adds such balance to a team. He's going to be a key figure for India in the couple of World Cups that are coming up. But there's not too much you can do about injury and I suppose from an Indian perspective, it gives you the opportunity to see what your team looks like, your balance looks like without a player like Hardik Pandya, and who could potentially fill the role if he is injured later on in the year. But you've got a great player to come back anyway. I suppose from an Indian perspective, you're just getting to see a different option. But New Zealand's probably in the same boat as well. They're stacked with spin bowling all-rounders and are looking for that seam bowling all-rounder the Jacob Oram or Scott Styris type of player in the top six while being involved with those seamers. So, it's not easy. As I said, both teams have been set up pretty similarly, and I'm looking forward to seeing Hardik back on the field soon because he is such a great player, he elaborated. Bond also went on to acknowledge the difficulty of adjusting quickly to New Zealand conditions after making the long trip from India, something which Samson mentioned. Looking forward to seeing Sanju actually. He's right - it's never easy to get off a plane. You're only in the country for a couple of days, got a little bit of jet lag going on because it's a long flight to get here and have limited training time, particularly on wickets at this time of the season that are generally a little bit spicy. So it's not easy to get into your flow and rhythm as a batsman, and that's let alone acclimatising to everything else. One thing for the Indian team is they're never short of practice and playing cricket. So even though the conditions may be different and you might not get as much practice as you want to, look, match fit and the guys are in form, and they're such good players that I'm expecting to still come out and blaze away. Bond further said hes eager to catch up with the tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav, whose raw speed has been critical in Indias T20I bowling plans. Looking forward to reconnecting with Mayank Yadav, who was here for his back surgery, and spend a bit of time with him. So, it'll be good to see him in action. Bond signed off by declining to assess Shreyas Iyer's captaincy tenure so far. I can't really comment on Shreyas in terms of his leadership because I just haven't seen those games to be honest. I haven't watched much of the T20 games from India because it's just been on a different time zone and I was on a holiday. So in terms of captaincy, look, it's never easy when the ball's flying around the park and big scores are being had and you're always under scrutiny as a captain based on decisions you make. Bond signed off by declining to assess Shreyas Iyer's captaincy tenure so far. I can't really comment on Shreyas in terms of his leadership because I just haven't seen those games to be honest. I haven't watched much of the T20 games from India because it's just been on a different time zone and I was on a holiday. Also Read: Special Cricket Stories Article Source: IANS