For Varun Chakaravarthy, finishing as top wicket taker at the T20 World Cup, alongside the talsmanic Jasprit Bumrah was the happiest moment. But the true miracle, the humble bowler would say at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awards night on Sunday, was watching Sanju “chetta” Samson, and how he went about shepherding India’s three 200+ totals in last their last three knockout matches.
“There’s a meme that’s gotten popular. It says, ‘If there’s a Mallu involved in a World Cup we never lose. It’s true. The masterstroke was getting him back into the XI,” Chakaravarthy said.
Personally, after 2021, Chakaravarthy hadn’t imagined this would be the story. Chakaravarthy was pretty much out of reckoning for selection to the Indian team for a lengthy period after a forgettable outing in the 2021 T20 World Cup, in which India had failed to make it to the knockouts. “If someone had asked me where we would be in next 5 years, you wouldn’t imagine this,” he would add. “Now I’d like to win more World Cups. Way things are, next 3-4 years cycle, we should dominate,” he said. “Ot just shows the amount of talent we are producing, and credit to BCCI’s domestic structure. And Syed Mushtaq Ali.”
For Mohammed Siraj, it had turned out to be a whirlwind. “Last year, we had won (in 2024). The hangover of that World Cup was still there. But winning back to back World Cups was exceptional. For me it was a miracle, I wasn’t in the team, but was called up and played the next day, and won the World Cup.”
He would credit Sanju Samson for turning things around.
“West Indies was crucial because we had lost to South Africa with a big margin. Sanju came into the team, and he found himself suddenly in KnockOut matches, But it was a script written for God’s favourite child,” Siraj would gush.
