Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy returned to the India T20I side in Delhi with different questions hanging over them. By the end of Sunday night, both had answered them in the most convincing way possible, on the field.
Abhishek had gone nine innings without a fifty in T20I cricket, a lean stretch that began on India’s tour of the UK. Varun was returning from an injury layoff after an underwhelming IPL season and a difficult England tour.
Both had reasons to feel good after India’s seven-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first T20I of the three-match series.
Abhishek smashed 82 off 32 balls, hitting seven sixes and as many boundaries, as India chased down 157 in less than 14 overs. Varun bowled four disciplined overs for 19 runs and picked up the wicket of Darwish Rasooli.
Then came the interesting part. Both spoke about setbacks without sounding particularly bothered by them. Abhishek was reflective. Varun was more assertive, almost challenging the premise that his recent numbers should be used to judge him.
Abhishek went back to a decision made by India’s batting group two years ago, when they committed to a certain style of cricket ahead of the World Cup.
The Punjab batter has been guilty of throwing away starts, but the same high-risk approach has also taken him to the top of the T20 batting world. He has built his game around putting pressure on bowlers, accepting that there will be days when it does not come off.
“One or two series won’t define our team as a batting unit,” he said, pointing to the larger philosophy rather than his own run of scores.
RESULTS WON’T DEFINE ME: VARUN
Varun, on the other hand, was blunter. He has been criticised throughout his career and written off more than once, including during the T20 World Cup cycle and after a difficult IPL 2026 season.
“What you are referring to is results; I cannot go by results,” he said when asked about his performance. “If I go by results, I will start reacting to each and everything.”
For Varun, the dividing line is simple. If he bowls a good ball and still concedes runs, he will accept it. If he bowls a bad ball and gets a wicket, he will still go back and work on it.
“It is not about wickets. It is about if I am bowling in the right place or not,” he said.
That is a striking position for a bowler in a sport where wickets are the most obvious currency. It is even more striking in the Indian T20I setup, where competition for places is relentless and every dip in form can quickly become a selection debate.
Varun’s recent numbers had offered plenty of ammunition. He took only one wicket in three T20Is in England in July. Before that came an IPL season in which he conceded 8.78 runs per over and took 11 wickets in as many matches, his fewest wickets in a season since his debut campaign in 2019. There was also the injury interruption.
Yet Varun refuses to treat any of that as a verdict on his bowling.
“Just because we didn’t win, it doesn’t mean that it has gone for waste,” he said of the England tour. “You get to learn a lot if you do the right thing.”
There is something to be said for that attitude in an Indian team where the next challenge is rarely far away. A poor run can cost you your place, but even a good run does not guarantee it. There is always another player coming.
Abhishek knows that better than most. He may have ended his wait for a T20I fifty in spectacular fashion, but there is a teenager of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s talent waiting to push for his place. Varun, too, knows the margins are narrow.
The temptation, therefore, is to become consumed by results. Instead, more and more players are trying to separate the result from the process. It can sound overly self-assured at times, particularly when someone like Varun pushes back so firmly against the premise of a question. But that confidence can also be a coping mechanism. Elite sport demands an unusual ability to absorb failure without allowing it to become a definition.
Abhishek’s nine innings without a fifty did not suddenly make him a lesser batter. Varun’s difficult IPL and England numbers did not erase the bowler who had taken 75 wickets in 49 T20Is.
In Delhi, both got the kind of performance that makes that philosophy easier to defend.
– Ends
