‘Just bowl how you do normally’

There have been plenty of questions around Yuzvendra Chahal’s form and place inside the national team of late. Having risen the ranks through performances in the IPL, Chahal established himself as the permanent member of the limited-overs setup of India, before a slight decline in his form led to some questioning over his tag of being India’s first-choice option.

Ever since the 2019 ODI World Cup, Chahal’s form has fluctuated, leading him to be in and out of the team at times. Incidentally, 2019 World Cup was the same tournament where Chahal’s partnership with Kuldeep Yadav was broken and the duo did not regroup until the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka.

However, the leg-spinners seems to have gotten back into his groove as he had an impressive series against Sri Lanka, and picked a wicket for 18 in runs in the first of the three T20Is in Colombo on Sunday that India won by 38 runs to take 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

My focus is just on performing well: Yuzvendra Chahal

“Definitely, when the bench strength is so good, we have a pool of 30 players. Everyone is doing well; my focus is just on performing well. If you perform well, you stay in the team and if you aren’t, then you cannot stay in the team. I do not look at what others are doing, my focus is on giving good performances,” said Chahal during the virtual post-match press conference.

“When I was not playing, I was working with my bowling coach and I was working on my craft. Even during the lockdown, I was looking at where I should be bowling. I backed myself before coming on this tour. We knew we were 10-15 runs short, but that is okay. Whatever the score is, we have to defend that. My job is to control the middle overs and I was very happy that I did it. I always back myself,” he added.

When asked about his conversations with fellow spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who made his international debut on Sunday, Chahal said: “We talked before the match, I told him just to bowl how you do normally. I know the pressure can be there in the first match, it always stays there. I suggested to keep bowling the way he does, nothing changes whether you are playing international cricket or IPL.”