Chakaravarthy, who has picked 75 wickets in 49 games, returned to India’s 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. Because of the extra bounce in early season pitches, despite conditions expected to favour pacers, 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.
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. 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. “India have always just had great frontline spin bowlers.
Because he is such a great player,” he elaborated, as I said, both teams have been set up pretty similarly, and I’m looking forward to seeing Hardik back on the field soon.
Bond further said he’s eager to catch up with the tearaway pacer Mayank Yadav, whose raw speed has been critical in India’s T20I bowling plans. “So, it’s not easy. “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.”
India are without injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who’s 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. “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. “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.
