Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla. Image-Twitter

Senior leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has completed his mandatory quarantine ahead of the IPL 2021 and on Thursday (March 25) began the net practice along with other Mumbai Indians players. The 5-time champions roped in the leg-spinner for Rs. 2.4 crore in the auction – Piyush Chawla has earlier represented Punjab Kings(formerly Kings XI Punjab), Kolkata Knight Riders, and Chennai Super Kings.

Along with Piyush Chawla, the likes of Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Yudhvir Charak, Anukul Roy, and Arjun Tendulkar also commenced their training for the mega-event. The defending champions will play the season opener against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in Chennai.

Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla (Image Credits: Twitter)

The training video was uploaded by the franchise on its official social media page where Chawla talks about the difficulties players face on returning to training after undergoing quarantine.

“It’s always nice once you come out of quarantine. It’s always the best feeling when you come to the ground and get to roll your arm over and then face some balls. So it was beautiful! As a player, when you come out of quarantine, it isn’t easy to get into the nets straightaway. You need long sessions to find your rhythm as a bowler. Day 1 was very nice, the way things went along. Quite satisfying!” Piyush Chawla said.

Piyush Chawla knows how to bowl on slow and low wickets: Parthiv Patel

Parthiv Patel, who is appointed as a Talent Scout for the defending champions, points out that the only void MI had last season was the absence of any experience spinner. With the signing of Piyush Chawla, who is the all-time third-highest wicket-taker in the IPL, Patel reckons that the Rohit Sharma-led franchise has all its bases covered.

Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla (Image Credit: Twitter)

“If you look at the Mumbai Indians squad last year, there was only one thing which everyone could notice – they didn’t have an experienced spinner. They have Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar, but they needed someone experienced, and that’s what Mumbai Indians did in this auction. They got Piyush Chawla, a very experienced campaigner in IPL,” Parthiv Patel told Star Sports.

“He knows how to bowl on Chennai wicket or on slow and low wickets. So, I think Mumbai Indians have covered all the bases. It depends on where they are playing so it won’t be a disadvantage. That’s what champions can do, even after winning a tournament they try and fill spots and that’s exactly what Mumbai Indians have done,” the former keeper added.

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