Mumbai Indians veteran spinner Piyush Chawla revealed that he just wanted to make a comeback into cricket as the urge to play the game kept him going despite being not picked in IPL 2022 auction. The 34-year-old has been the standout bowler for the five-time champions in this edition of the Indian Premier League.
Piyush Chawla made a brilliant comeback in this IPL 2023, as he has taken 19 wickets in 12 matches for Mumbai Indians this season and has provided their team with vital breakthroughs in the middle overs of the league stage.
Speaking to the broadcasters, after their emphatic win against the defending champions Gujarat Titans, Piyush Chawla said that he wanted to make a comeback to play the game and revealed that he worked hard this season to play the IPL and thanked the Gujarat Cricket Association and Parthiv Patel for their help to prepare him well for the cash-rich league.
“Well, I just wanted to make a comeback because that urge was there to play. Earlier, I never used to go to all the camps, but this year I attended all the camps. Gujarat Cricket Association helped me a lot, and Parthiv Patel helped me a lot,” Piyush Chawla said.
“After that, I played in all the tournaments, DY Patil, Mushtaq Ali, and Vijay Hazare. I wanted to bowl in the matches, at the nets I have bowled enough,” he added.
In the game against Gujarat Titans, Chawla picked up 2 wickets conceding 36 runs in his four overs. He has already gone past his previous-best IPL tally of 17 to take 19 wickets so far this season.
The 2011 World Cup winner Piyush Chawla made a comeback into the Indian Premier League 2023, after missing out in the previous edition as he found no takers and has done exceptionally well in the white ball cricket in 2022 playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy for Gujarat.
I Wanted To Play For My Son As Well – Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla said that he wanted to do well this season as he made a comeback for his son because he had not seen him play before. He stated that his son–Advik Chawla is happy with him picking wickets for the Mumbai Indians and added that his son understands the game better and that is the motivation for him to do something special for the five-time champions.
“It means a lot (this season) because it’s not only about the comeback. I wanted to play for my son as well because he had not seen me playing. When he saw me, he was too young. Now he has started understanding it better although he is still 6. But he follows the game and understands the game. So I wanted to play the game and do something special for him,” Piyush Chawla added.
The five-time champions fast-bowling unit looked vulnerable, especially in the absence of their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and the recent injury to Jofra Archer and Chawla has been the go-to man for Rohit Sharma to pick crucial wickets in the middle overs.