"The numbers aren't there. It looks like he hasn't been deceptive like he has been in the past," Vettori said. "He isn't a big turner; it doesn't look like he's turning the ball as much. It looks like batsmen feel comfortable taking him on. Those factors may have pushed KKR towards taking this decision [to drop him].

"Maybe they're trying to provide a catalyst for him around improvement, around finding his game plans. It just seems like he isn't the bowler he was last year. It just felt like he wasn't the bowler who was destructive like in the past."

Chakravarthy's numbers are telling: four wickets in eight matches at an economy of 8.82. Chakravarthy has been wicketless in each of the three previous matches, while also not completing his quota of overs. He has an economy of over 12 in this period.

"Six points [so far] this season. They have to put out the best team at Wankhede to try and get two points. These two points are critical. It's not quite now or never yet, but it's kind of getting very close. So, I'm not totally surprised with Varun, in the conditions they're going to play today."

Bishop feels surfaces haven't slowed down as much as expected so far, which could be one of the reasons for Chakravarthy's effectiveness. As such he isn't a big turner of the ball but depends on minute variations and grip off the decks.

"I don't ever give up on a player. I always feel that at some point, even if it is at an advanced stage of your career, you can learn something. So, while we've seen (Yuzvendra) Chahal and Kuldeep (Yadav) do some good things, I still don't think some of the pitches have offered [much to] Chakravarthy, who doesn't spin the ball a lot anyway," Bishop observed. "The ball deviates just that much, so he perhaps needs a little more grip than some of the surfaces [are offering] to be at his very best.

"Maybe he'll come back in at some point later in this tournament itself if the conditions and his confidence and form are right, provided he's not injured. I won't give up on him. Maybe they're giving him a break to say 'mate, take some time to refresh yourself', there's a possibility to come back now or next season."

"I subscribe to the theory that when you're in poor form, there's a time where you're waiting to be dropped," he said. "When you keep playing and playing and playing, you don't get a chance to work out what's going wrong. Therefore, if you do actually leave a player out and give them strong communication, they can almost reset themselves.

"Like Bish said, you don't ever want to give up on a player, particularly a retained player, particularly a player with that skillset, how effective he can be at his best. This just may be a reset, he can go away a little bit, work with the bowling coach, work with coaches outside of the KKR setup and just see where it gets him to. He's also a fresher, so when he goes back into the team, it won't be about how bad he's been. He's had a break, fresh start, let's see what he's got."