Team India white-ball leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal reveals that he expected a call-up for the Test squad when England toured India recently.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s career has been a roller coaster ride. His heroics in IPL earned him a place in India’s limited over format and become the leading spinner for Team India.
However, since World Cup 2019, Chahal's performances haven't been up the mark. He averages 37.68 in 17 T20Is and has picked up 17 wickets with an economy rate of 9.13 while in ODIs, the leg-spinner has 8 wickets in five matches since the World Cup.
The 30-year-old though has a decent record in first-class cricket, picking up 84 wickets in 31 games but is yet to represent India in whites.
In an interaction with Sports Tak, Yuzvendra Chahal admitted that he didn’t expect to be in India’s Test squad which will tour England but when Three Lions toured India earlier and with players getting injured he expected to be in the squad.
“This time I wasn’t expecting a call-up. But yes, when England toured India and some of our spinners were injured, I felt somewhere that my name might prop up,” Yuzvendra Chahal told Sports Tak.
Chahal says he and Kuldeep could have played together if Jadeja was a medium pacer
Chahal admitted that he needs to improve himself, considering the spin options India has presently with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
“You see Akshar came in and did well. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep are already there, so you feel that 3-4 players are already in the reckoning and it will be difficult for you to get a chance.
“Especially when they are performing so well. Ashwin bhaiyya completed 400 Test wickets and Jaddu Pa has over 250 wickets. Looking at them you feel that you have to improve more to get a chance,” he said.
Yuzvendra Chahal further revealed that he wants to play Test cricket for India, pointing to his stellar record in red-ball cricket over the past few years.
“Obviously, you want to wear the whites. If someone calls you a Test player, there is a no bigger compliment. In the last 3-4 years, I have picked 50 wickets in the ten first-class matches, out of which two are India A games,” he concluded.
Yuzvendra Chahal is likely to get a place in India’s squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
(Sports Tak inputs)
