India’s star leg-spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal, who had started his Indian Premier League (IPL) career with the Mumbai Indians (MI), has recently recalled his stint with the MI in the IPL, as well as, revealed how he was under pressure before bowling his first over in the Champions League T20.
Chahal joined the MI camp in 2011 but served drinks in most of his times with the Mumbai-based franchise due to the presence of other senior spinners like Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha.
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He got only one chance to play for MI against Kolkata Knight Riders in three seasons and that too only because Rohit Sharma made his captaincy debut in 2013. However, the leg-spinner played in all matches in the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 for MI team.
However, the Haryana lad managed to rise at the ranks and get into the Indian cricket team through his stellar IPL performances, thanks to his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore led by captain Virat Kohli. He has been part of the RCB since 2014.
Chahal told ESPNcricinfo, “When I joined MI, there were three spinners including me. During the Champions League T-20 that year, only 13 players from our squad were available. The rest were injured. So, I had a feeling that I would get to play and so I did.”
The leg-spinner said he learned a lot from his senior spinners at the nets during his MI days. He further added, “There was a bit of pressure at the start at but I was fine once I bowled my first over. That's when I realized that the T20 format is more of a mind game. If you are a professional cricketer, pressure won't bother you. Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha were very helpful. I learned a lot by bowling with them in the nets and staying around the team.”
He also recalled how captain Rohit had given him a place in the MI XI during his debut season in 2013. Chahal recalled, “After Rohit became the captain of MI he came and told me that I am playing the coming game. I told him that there were already two senior spinners in the team. To which he said, ‘I'm the captain now, and you are playing.' He had faith in me because of my performance in the Champions League T20, and he was keen to play me at any opportunity.”
On his RCB stint, the spin bowler said: “I performed well in the practice matches and got support from Daniel Vettori (coach) and Virat Kohli (captain). I played my first match against Delhi and won the Man-of-the-Match title. That boosted my confidence and helped me with my performance throughout the season. I ended the season (2015) as the third-highest wicket-taker.”
Chahal also admitted that it is hard to bowl at RCB’s home ground M Chinnaswamy stadium because of its small dimensions, but he always backs the strengths that help him to overcome the challenges.
He further explained, “Chinnaswamy is a hard ground to bowl because of the dew factor. But I always remember what Harbhajan Singh once told me - back your skills as a bowler. My strengths are varying my pace and beating the batsman in flight. I have seen a lot of spinners change their actions bowling at the Chinnaswamy. I can sense their fear, I then tell this to the batsmen in my team so that they can attack him. In the 2015 IPL season, I was hit for 28 sixes, the most for any bowler in the season.”
Chahal signed off by saying, “You get any batsman, he won't be able to hit me for three consecutive 4s in Bengaluru. It's easier to hit three consecutive 6s though. But I need to know why I am getting hit for sixes. If the ball is landing close to the ropes, I know it's a good ball, and on other grounds, it might have been a wicket-taking delivery. So, I will get the wicket sooner or later.”
(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)
