Yuzvendra Chahal has reclaimed his position as India’s first-choice spinner in white-ball cricket under Rohit Sharma’s leadership after being left out of the T20 World Cup team last year. Chahal has described how communication from Rohit Sharma played a key part in changing the course of his Twenty20 career and forcing him to take on a new position for the squad.
Yuzvendra Chahal, who shocked many in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when he was left out of India’s T20 World Cup team in 2021, has managed to resurrect his career over the past year and has reclaimed his position as the nation’s top spinner in white-ball cricket.
Chahal has grown into an essential part of the team since Rohit Sharma took over as manager of the Men in Blue. Chahal had an outstanding debut season in 2022 with the runners-up Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the India Premier League (IPL), in addition to weaving a web in international cricket that worried players from all over the world. Chahal got the purple cap after taking 27 wickets.
In an interview with Sports Yaari, he revealed the motivation behind his recent success. He said, “Rohit bhai always used me like a wicket-taking bowler. I got great liberty from him which every bowler expects from the captain. Rohit bhai would always ask me what I wanted to do as a bowler. Even during India’s batting, he would ask me what I would’ve bowled in a particular situation. I got to know that as a bowler, I can’t relax in an over.”
Chahal further disclosed that Rahul Dravid advised him to concentrate on delivering “length balls” since he would need to bowl for India in the death overs. “work on bowling fullers( full length balls). You might be asked to bowl during death over and powerplay overs while playing for India. You try using the crease more.”
Yuzvendra on coach Dravid’s advice.
Chahal said that Sanju Samson, the captain of the RR, had given him a bit of similar advice before the IPL 2022. He concluded, “In the IPL, I had a detailed chat with Sanju. He assured me that I would get my four overs and I would have the liberty to bowl whatever way I wanted to. If I feel like helping you out with something, I would. But you would bowl at least one over between 16-20, even if you concede 15 runs. Because I believe you can do that.”
