If Yuzi Chahal had played under MS Dhoni in the Chennai Super Kings team, he would have gotten more than 300 wickets by now instead of 200. In a recent interaction, Chahal’s childhood coach Randhir Singh told CricBlogger. He also said that his ward is so tactically sound that he knows when to get into attacking mode and how to stop the flow of runs.
“It is all about mindset. Chahal is a clever bowler. He knows what to do when and when to do what. Inside RCB, Chahal mostly bowled on flat tracks and the small Chinnaswamy stadium and still got a lot of success because of his mindset. If he had played for CSK, he could have got over 300 IPL wickets,” Randhir said while heaping praises on Chahal.
The fact that Chahal has been in and out of the side due to mood swings of the selectors and the team management over the years, but the Haryana spinner never felt short on confidence. “Chahal can still bowl slow inside the Chinnaswamy stadium because of courage. He isn’t scared of getting hit. He is ready for all eventuality,” Randhir said,
Last year, when the selectors didn’t consider Chahal for the 50-over World Cup at home, experts thought that Chahal was over in white ball cricket. The selectors and team management opted for Ravi Bishanoi to be a contender for the T20 World Cup more than Chahal. But Chahal didn’t lose hope.
Chahal wasn’t even thinking about getting picked for the T20 team. But becoming the highest wicket-taker in IPL history made a lot of difference. He was back in contention. Former cricketers started making their 15 for the T20 World Cup, and everyone named Chahal in their teams.
“That helped his cause,” his coach admitted.
Chahal, who was playing throughout the year, and missing out on ICC events, finally found his mojo back. “He is mentally very tough and that separates him from the rest of the bowlers,” Randhir said with simmering emotions.
If all goes well, India could be seen fielding the famous “Kulcha” combo– Kuldeep and Chahal — to wield the spin magic along with dependable Ravindra Jadeja with three pacers in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj and Hardik Pandya. Who knows!