The India-South Africa T20I series will commence from June 9.
When it comes to classic leg-spin bowling, former batter Aakash Chopra believes Yuzvendra Chahal is the greatest among the latest batch of cricketers. Since making his limited-overs debut in 2016, the 31-year-old has been an integral part of the Indian limited-overs setup.
After taking 27 wickets in 17 matches in IPL 2022, Chahal won the Purple Cap for most wickets. In a match against Shreyas Iyer's Kolkata Knight Riders, the veteran also had a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick for the Rajasthan Royals.
Chopra praised Chahal, a Haryana native, for his deception and trajectory, which make it difficult for batters to play him well.
"Yuzvendra Chahal is an amazing bowler. He bowls differently from everyone else. Generally, all leg-spinners doing well in T20s bowl more googlies and fewer leg-spinners and try to finish the ball within the three stumps. He (Chahal) varies his line so beautifully that you feel that the guy is a Grandmaster," Chopra was quoted as saying on his official YouTube channel.
When Chahal bowls on the stumps, he gets a lot of purchases from the surface, according to Chopra. "If the ball pitches within the three stumps, it is in my arc and I can play a shot very easily, but if it pitches outside the leg stump, it becomes difficult to play a shot. When he (Chahal) bowls on the stumps, he turns the ball a lot, so that you cannot hit him straight. Else he goes even further outside off stump," Chopra added.
Chahal is poised to play for the Men in Blue in their forthcoming T20I series against South Africa and the first T20I will be hosted at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, June 9.