Rashid Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal
Getty Images

It was in mid-2017 when Yuzvendra Chahal emerged on the scene alongside Kuldeep Yadav. As India looked in dire need of wicket-takers in the middle overs with Ashwin and Jadeja failing to get the job done; the pair of wrist spinners broke in the Indian team. Initially, they were given a trial run, as MSK Prasad-led selection committee claimed the seniors were on break. Well, the rest is history. The bowling duo had been so successful ever since hat neither of Ashwin or Jadeja got an extended run in the ODI format.

Chahal talks about his evolution in the team

In the past two years, the India team had achieved a lot more than what was expected out of them. The Men in Blue have won ODI series in South Africa (5-1), Australia (2-1) and New Zealand (4-1) besides dominating in the home games.

Meanwhile, Chahal who had played a vital role in helping the team attain such results said he evolved in the meantime – giving credit to playing more regular matches. He added the captain investing trust in him had done a world of good to his game.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli
Yuzvendra Chahal says Virat Kohli’s trust in him has helped him a lot. Image Courtesy: Getty

“Khel khel ke maturity aayi hai (Playing constant cricket has helped me become mature). You feel good when your skipper starts trusting you so much. It feels nice to become one of the main players. It brings pressure with it too, but the way you tackle that pressure is also part of the process,” Chahal told TOI in an exclusive chat.

There has been this norm about the wrist spinners gaining more success than the finger spinners. Even in the past, Harbhajan Singh had said the same; noting the traditional turners of the ball need to add more variety to their arsenal if they wish to stay alive in the game.

I am not even close to Ashwin, Jadeja – Yuzi

Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashwin, Jadeja
Chahal said he is nowhere to close to Ashwin, Jadeja. Image Courtesy: Getty

Yuzvendra Chahal, who since August 2017 has picked 65 wickets in 37 games at 24.84 said everyone works hard. He further mentioned the pair of Ashwin-Jadeja had done so much for India for so long that he and Kuldeep are no match to them.

“Everyone works hard. If you are talking about wrist spinners, then I am not even close to what Ashwin and Jaddu bhaiya (Ravindra Jadeja) have achieved. They have sustained for 8-10 years. Kuldeep and I have only started out. They have played more matches than the number of wickets we have taken. They have taken nearly 350 and 200 Test wickets respectively. Kuldeep and I have barely taken 100 international wickets,” Chahal added.

Meanwhile, the wrist spinners will be in action against Australia in the limited-overs series, which begins on February 24th in Vizag.

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