IND vs NZ | Yuzvendra Chahal is India's top leg-spinner, opines Dinesh Karthik
After India whitewashed New Zealand in the three-match T20I series, Dinesh Karthik has stated that Yuzvendra Chahal is the top leg-spinner in India. The wicket-keeper batsman further added that Chahal is a good chess player, and that has definitely benefited him to think ahead of the batsmen.
India handed a resounding 73-run defeat to New Zealand in the third T20I on Sunday in Kolkata, and have whitewashed the white-ball series 3-0. The third T20I match also witnessed the return of Yuzvendra Chahal to India's white-ball setup after being sidelined fromĀ the T20 World Cup squad. After a poor run in the limited over format for India, Chahal was dropped from India squad for the marquee event, however, considering his brilliant form in the second half of IPL 2021 in UAE, the leg spinner was named in the T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand.Ā Ā Chahal scalped 14 wickets from eight matches at an economy of 7.06 in the second half of the cash-rich league.
In the third T20I, ChahalĀ clinched theĀ crucial wicket of Martin Guptill, who scored 51 off 36 balls for New Zealand, and conceded only 26 runs in four overs. Meanwhile,Ā Dinesh Karthik has stated thatĀ Chahal is India's bestĀ leg-spinĀ bowler, and will definitely fly to Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022.
āGreat to see him come back. And he showed his character. The way he bowled in the second leg of IPL, he was an absolute champion. He is the top leg-spinner in India. I always rate him very high because he is also a chess player and they are always a couple of moves ahead than normal people. And that is always a special attribute for me. He's got good skills, good variations and is a brave bowler and he has single-handedly grown in stature in IPL. He was bought for INR 10 lakhs by RCB in 2013, and now he is beyond what it is and that shows he has improved over time and has shown his value. I'm sure he will be retained by the franchise.Ā
āHe is also a very good bowler abroad as well, a very important attribute to keep in mind when India travel to Australia for the next T20 World Cup. I am sure he will be on that flight to Australia. And I also know Rohit trusts him a lot. Their relationship is not just strong off the field, on the field they have some good conversations," said Karthik.
India will now play a two-match Test series against New Zealand starting from November 25.Ā