Indian spinner Varun Chakaravarthy discussed his preparations for the upcoming Asia Cup, starting on September 9, and the support he received from T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir upon his return to white-ball cricket for India. India’s Asia Cup campaign will begin on September 10 against UAE. Spinner Varun, who has taken 33 wickets in 18 T20Is so far, aims to be a crucial addition to the Indian setup, having performed impressively since his return to international cricket last year, including two five-wicket hauls in T20Is and one in ODIs during the ICC Champions Trophy-winning campaign. In an interview with Revsportz, Varun mentioned that he is currently on a one-month break, focusing on his “strength and conditioning, fitness, my bowling, my batting, and everything.” “The Asia Cup is coming up, and for the white-ball players, they have got a good break after the IPL. I did play TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League), but still I have got a one-month break right now. It has been a good time to work on my strength and conditioning, fitness, my bowling, my batting, and everything. I got time to rejuvenate my entire self in a holistic way. Feeling better because I got a lot of time to spend with my kid, my wife, my parents. Yes, I think, I have put in the hard yards. Now, the rest is up to the bigger force,” he said. What After Asia Cup For Varun Chakaravarthy? Discussing his plans for the ODI World Cup 2027, a format he has played four times and taken 10 wickets with a five-wicket haul, Varun said that after the Asia Cup, he aims to excel in India’s white-ball tours. “After the Asia Cup, there is a long streak of many white-ball tours coming up and they are challenging ones as well. So the primary goal will be to excel in all those tours, then hit the World Cup with good confidence and more clarity within myself and the process that I am trying to develop,” he said. The conditions in Dubai will favour Varun, as he took nine wickets in three matches during the ICC CT 2025. Varun noted that while the wickets in Dubai have been favourable, there are many factors necessary for his performance. “One factor out of those is the ground conditions, and I hope they favours us. On the other hand, in IPL, you may have seen that the factors and conditions do not help the bowlers much. So, I am also used to bowling in such conditions. Hence, I am ready for both, but I am very eager to see how the pitches are at this point of the year in the UAE,” he added. Varun acknowledged the significant role T20I skipper Surya and coach Gambhir played in his comeback. Before the tour of Bangladesh for T20Is, the skipper told him, “I am looking at you; let’s see how things go, but I am keen on having you in the team setup.” “Similarly, Gauti Bhai also has helped me a lot in my comeback, the way he motivates me. Even if we talk little, he has always given me good confidence and he has always told that “no matter who’s going to ignore you, I will keep you in my plans for now”. So, that kind of gave me confidence. And if you ask about Gauti Bhai as a mentor, then I would say he brings in a warrior mindset in the dressing room, which is very important and has worked for us at KKR and in the Champions Trophy,” he added. Varun noted that, as seen during the 2-2 drawn Test tour to England, Gambhir brings energy to the dressing room, where “there is no mediocrity.” “You give everything you have and it does not matter whether you win or you lose. And about Surya, he is someone very similar to Rohit Sharma – that is what I’ve seen. He is a very tactically sound, and maybe his time at Mumbai Indians (MI) has given him good exposure to great captains. He is a very good guy and never puts pressure on the bowlers. It would be a bowler’s delight to have a captain like him,” he concluded. (With inputs from ANI)