Yuzvendra Chahal | RCB’s unsung hero takes flight in national colours

Two matches, an economy rate bordering 11 and dropped from the side—that is how Yuzvendra Chahal started this year’s IPL. To put it politely, his performances at the start of the season were poor. 66 runs were conceded in 6.1 overs in those 2 matches, with a return of only 2 wickets. Unsurprisingly, he was dropped, and he remained on the sidelines for two more matches.

(Also read why Chris Gayle may miss next year's IPL)

"Chess helps me in plotting a batsman's dismissal. I try to be one step ahead, especially in T20 where the bowler has to think on his feet. When the batsman is going hard, I try to remain calm. My chess training helps me in staying focused with the job in hand," Chahal had said to the TOI recently. But if so talented and prodigal was Chahal, what made him switch to cricket?

Chess happens to be one of the costliest individual games to play and coming from a middle-class family, money wasn’t available in abundance for the Chahals. KK Chahal, Yuzi’s father, is an advocate in Jind district, Haryana, the same place Yuzvendra hails from. An advocate in Haryana, or in any part of the country for that matter, can not fund the enormous monetary demands of chess. Also the small matter of not finding too many good coaches, played a part in his decision.

So that was the end of chess as a profession, but the focus and single-headedness learnt back then, has not been lost over time. Chahal has also built a better artillery, maturing and growing without fail in his four seasons in the IPL. But success did not just come accidentally to the player, who has had average performances year-on-year in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 tournament. But what changed his career was one performance in a big Champions Trophy final.

Back in 2011, Mumbai Indians had snapped up the leggie, but almost never played him through his 3-year contract. In fact, the 25-year old played only one IPL match from 2011 to 2013. But in the Champions League 2011, where Mumbai Indians didn’t send a lot of first team players in a team led by Harbhajan Singh, Chahal started every game. First, Chahal hit the winning runs in Mumbai’s second game to earn a tight 1-wicket win. Mumbai Indians did not look back from there and reached the final. So did Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mumbai scored 139 and they defended it. Chahal finished with figures of 2/9 in 3 overs, bowling 13 dots.

That history includes 12 wickets in his first season for RCB, followed up by 23 in his next and 20 this term. 54 wickets in 3 seasons of what is one of BCCI’s major cricketing events in the calendar has deservedly earned him a call-up. And his rise and rise is attributed to one Kiwi who had full faith in him throughout and has shown him the way.

“My wrist position has changed. My strides used to be longer earlier but now they're shorter. In T20 cricket, sometimes when you're bowling your body falls over and you don't realise it. But the coaches notice it and tell you. He’s been a big boost to me,” said the Haryana bowler about the coaching staff, that is headed by Daniel Vettori.

In a season where spinners have barely left a mark on the tournament, Chahal has gone from strength to strength and that comes partly due to the confidence entrusted in him by his captain.

“Virat always tells me not to worry about being hit for sixes. He backs me to bowl whatever I want to bowl and keep a big heart,” Chahal had said of Virat after RCB’s game against CSK last season.

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