Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was a surprise omission from the Indian squad for the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2021. India failed to get past the Super 12s stage, losing crunch matches to Pakistan and New Zealand, and didn’t qualify for the semifinals.
When the Men in Blue squad was announced for the ICC event, Chahal, who has been a vital cog of the Indian white-ball resurgence, lost out to fellow leggie Rahul Chahar for not bowling fast enough.
With every performance in the IPL post the axe, it seemed Chahal was trolling the national selectors.
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However, he was included in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand which begins on November 17, and in an interview with Times of India, talked about his omission from the T20 World cup and lessons he learnt after that.
“I was not dropped in four years and then I got dropped for such a marquee event. I felt really bad. I was down for two-three days. But then I knew the second leg of the IPL was still around the corner. I went back to my coaches and spoke to them a lot.
My fans kept putting out motivational posts. That buoyed me. I decided to back my strengths and overcome my confusion. I couldn’t have sulked for long because that would have impacted my IPL form,” Chahal told Times of India.
He was also asked about becoming a defensive bowler by bowling at faster speeds in order to get back in national reckoning.
Chahal said: “The 250 wickets that I have got in T20 cricket, I got them because I stuck to my strengths. I can’t afford to become a bowler that I never was. I did get confused about how I should approach my bowling. But eventually, I decided to back myself.
If you look closely at the T20 World Cup, wrist-spinners have done well. It’s wrong to say that the wrist-spinners have enjoyed their era in the past few years. I believe a good bowler — it doesn’t matter if he is a wrist or finger spinner — will always find a way to take wickets. It was also wrong to say only wrist-spinners can take wickets, but the finger spinners who have performed well have made it to the team.”
Chahal also said that how he manages to one-up the batters and how he cannot be compared to someone like Rashid Khan.
“It’s more of a mind game rather than reading. I am not a mystery spinner like Ajantha Mendis. Rashid Khan is in a different league. I believe he is a cut above the rest like we used to talk about Muralidharan sir or Shane Warne sir. My calling card is mindgame. I don’t try fancy variations. I back whatever variations I have,” he said.
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Yuzvendra Chahal shares a good rapport with new India T20I captain Rohit Sharma and he mentioned it as well, as he will be playing under his captaincy in the T20I series against New Zealand.
“I have always had a special bond with Rohit. We are like family. Be it him or Ritika Bhabhi, they have always treated me like a younger brother. We always went out together for dinner. Our relationship is beyond our cricket. That helps on the field too when you trust someone so much. It’s always good to know that if I share something with him, there will be a positive response and vibe,” Chahal signed off.
(TOI inputs)
