05 October,2020 07:07 AM IST | Mumbai | Chandresh Narayanan
RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Pic: BCCI/IPL
Yuzvendra Chahal's stated ambition before the start of this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was to break into India's Test squad. He had referred to playing Test cricket as the ultimate challenge for any player even as he placed winning the World Cup as one of his main goals.
Considering the way Jasprit Bumrah graduated from white-ball cricket to Test matches, there is a strong possibility that Chahal's dream will come true soon. However, he has not played any long-form cricket since December 2018 when he represented his state, Haryana in a Ranji Trophy match. That has also been because of India's tight white-ball calendar.
However, now it seems a few things are finally going his way. He is currently the highest wicket-taker in the tournament this far (eight wickets from four matches) and is the proud owner of the purple cap for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
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In doing so, he has proved right the prophecy of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who had predicted that the leggie would be a match-winner for RCB. That was a huge vote of confidence for a man, who had doubted his own ability before the tournament. "During the lockdown, I practised for just 10 days and before the first match, I was worried about my rhythm. I was worried especially about my googlies, the variations, whether they will be there or not," Chahal said after the first match this season. But things changed soon after.
With muscle memory kicking in again, Chahal has risen quickly through the ranks.
RCB's Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson identified Chahal as one of the leaders in the group alongside skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Chahal's role now is also to mentor a young player, Bengal's left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed. This is a replication of the famed buddy system that former India coach John Wright had introduced when he was in charge of the national side. Chahal therefore has a larger role. He already has the confidence of his captain, Kohli, who sees him as a game-changer.
An accomplished chess player, Chahal seems to have made all the right moves this season to emerge as the lynchpin of the RCB attack. Head coach Simon Katich too believes in Chahal being an attacking weapon with the ball.
"He has been magnificent. We are giving him situations now to really attack. We are seeing his class from game to game. He is certainly enjoying these conditions," said Katich after the win over Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
"It's the best the boys have seen him bowl. The control and variety is there. And he works batsmen over with his thinking as well. We are looking forward to him carrying his form throughout the tournament," added Katich.
Considering Chahal spent a better part of the lockdown making videos of himself, dancing on social media platforms, making the batsmen dance to his tunes with the ball now should not be that difficult a task.
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