The Story
Yuzvendra Chahal has been one of the fastest rising spinners in the country at the moment. His name might not come in the headlines more often but he is silently making all the impact and staying on the selector’s radar.
The leg-spinner made his international debut last year and had a couple of highly successful series. But, strangely, he was overlooked for the ongoing series against West Indies for the chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
The decision made by the selectors wasn’t surprising but Chahal isn’t affected at all, as he prepares to make his case more strong by putting up some really noteworthy performance with the India A in the upcoming tour of South Africa where he will be participating in the tri-series featuring the hosts as well as Australia.
Not Focussing On The 2019 World Cup Berth
It was the IPL that brought him recognition as well as luck. The move from Mumbai Indians to Royal Challengers Bangalore paid off very nicely, as he picked up 12 wickets in 2014, 21 in 2015 and continued the same form to bag 21 wickets in 2016 – the season where RCB finished runners-up.
Soon, he earned the India cap and became one of the contenders for the spinners place in the team. In an exclusive phone interview to royalchallengers.com, Chahal revealed that the upcoming India A tour will provide him with a good platform to prove himself again. But, oddly, he isn’t targeting the 2019 World Cup berth despite skipper Virat Kohli announcing that the focus will be on the 10-12 bunch of players in India A sides apart from the 15 already in the national side.
“No, I’m not focussing on the 2019 World Cup. I’m just focussing on this India ‘A’ tour. I always prefer to go step by step. But obviously, if I make it to the 2019 World Cup squad, it’ll be a big achievement for me in my life. But I’m focussing more on this India ‘A’ tour as of now,” Chahal said.
Leg-spinners Are Special
Leg-spinners, especially in limited overs cricket, have built a reputation of their own in recent times despite the fact that bowlers of other varieties have struggled to maintain their standards due to the highly aggressive nature of the limited overs cricket.
Explaining the effectiveness of leggies in limited overs, Yuzi said,
“Leg-spinners obviously are the wicket taking bowlers for a captain.”
“We’ve (Leg spinners) got more variations when compared to other bowlers and being wrist spinners, we are bound to get a little extra turn even on flat wickets when compared to a slow left arm or off-spinners.”
Not Upset After Missing The Windies Tour
He also states that he wasn’t disappointed at all after being ignored for the series against West Indies.
“No, nothing like that. My job is to perform and it’s up to the selectors (to pick teams). But I don’t think that much.”
“It’s okay, there are others who’ve come and performed. I’ve been picked for India ‘A’ and now this is my good chance to perform and get back into the senior team.”
The Flat Wicket Specialist
According to most of the spinners, they love to bowl on rank turners for the obvious reasons. The assistance from the pitch makes them very happy and optimistic about success. However, Chahal is of a different kind. He states that while rank turners have their own set of huge advantages, he only likes bowling on flat, unresponsive surfaces so far in his career.
“I’ve played in Australia last year for the [India] ‘A’ team. Like I’ve mentioned even during the IPL that I love bowling on flat wickets. They suit my type of bowling and offer me bounce. On turning wickets, it becomes a little difficult to bowl. My thinking says that I’m a better bowler on flat pitches,” the 26-year old explained.
Asked how he plans to work on the unconducive pitches of South Africa, Chahal said that he’d be focusing on the basics.
“I’m just working on my old variations – my top spinner and on the slider. This IPL, I bowled more sliders to the left-handers and mixed it well with the googly,” the leggie said.
A highly optimistic Chahal has set his eyes on a national comeback. What is his next immediate goal?
“As I told you, my total focus is to perform well in the India ‘A’ tour and as soon as possible, grab my chance to play again for the Indian national side.”
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