Piyush Chawla recalled getting all the support and backing from seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, and Yuvraj Singh after he was hammered on his Test debut by Kevin Pietersen.
Chawla was a child prodigy as he played U19 cricket for India even though he was only 15 years old. He caused quite a commotion when he bamboozled Sachin Tendulkar with a wrong'un during a Challenger Trophy final in 2005. He had also dismissed MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in the same match.
He then performed well for Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy, taking 5 wickets and scoring 224 runs to help UP win their first title. This led to Chawla getting his maiden India call-up against England at home in 2006-07.
Chawla made his Test debut in the second Test in Mohali, along with pacer Munaf Patel. While Munaf impressed everyone with his pace and dismissed Kevin Pietersen, England captain Andrew Flintoff, and Liam Plunkett in the first innings, Chawla went wicketless.
He only bowled 9 overs but went for 45 runs. He got special treatment from Kevin Pietersen, who hit him for six and two fours in the 13 balls he faced from the leggie.
"The way everyone backed me. It's very important for a youngster who has just walked into the side to get support from the seniors. In my first Test match, Pietersen hit me to different parts of the ground. And stated that: 'Whether it is Shane Warne or a 17-year-old kid, I bat this way'. That experience was like 'welcome to international cricket'.
I almost had a five-wicket haul in every second match in domestic cricket. It appeared like things were very easy, but when I played my first Test, I realized why international cricket is so difficult," Chawla said on the ‘2 Sloggers’ podcast.
Chawla then went on to add how Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, and the other seniors supported him.
“Sachin paaji came. Viru bhai talked to me in his own way. Then Yuvi paaji and Mahi bhai. I can't say they were friends because they were very seniors,” he added.
Piyush Chawla was also part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 World Cup. However, despite his immense talent, Chawla only played three Tests, 25 ODIs, and 7 T20Is for India.
