As India gear up for the crucial Super 8 phase of the T20 World Cup, much of the spotlight remains on the team’s mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy. India’s bowling coach, Morne Morkel, has acknowledged that the in-form spinner has felt the weight of expectations, particularly when it comes to delivering crucial breakthroughs in high-pressure moments.

Chakravarthy has been India’s standout bowler in the tournament so far. With nine wickets from four matches at an impressive economy rate of 6.88, he has consistently provided breakthroughs to India. According to Morkel, for India to sustain their dominance deep into the tournament, other bowlers must step up and provide consistent support.

“He’s obviously been a strike bowler and has done really well in the World Cup so far. Even before the World Cup, he’s been a go-to guy for us. But you still need guys to set the tone up front. you need your other three or four guys to create that pressure and bowl in partnerships to help Varun out,” Morkel said at the press conference.

"I think sometimes he also feels the pressure to try too many things, to be the guy to break the partnership, to put us on the front foot, to give us the momentum. It's important to have those conversations for him to just not try and rush it. Things will happen if he lands the ball in the right areas." 

It’s also important for him to understand that he’s not alone on the field, and it's been good for us to get that bowling unit around him. In terms of preparation, he is a student of the game. I can say that he's one guy that will do extra work analysing batters and is very specific on the video footage we do. He asks us a lot of questions," he added. 

India will once again look to Chakravarthy to rise to the occasion when they begin their Super 8 campaign against South Africa on Sunday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.