Yuzvendra Chahal credits Daniel Vettori for his success

One of the best performers of the IPL 2016, Royal Challengers Bangalore leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal earned his maiden call-up to the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe tour which kicks off today at the Harare Sports Club.

Chahal, who finished second behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the highest wicket-takers’ list in the IPL 2016 with 21 wickets in 13 matches, was praised by Sunil Gavaskar for his exploits in the cash-rich league. A national call-up is a dream that every young cricketer nurtures and the 25-year-old leggie credits his stint with the RCB side for helping him grow as a cricketer.

Vettori’s advice

Talking about the improvements in his bowling, Chahal credited the RCB coach Daniel Vettori for his emergence. Vettori, who himself was one of the leading spinners of his time, worked extensively with Chahal to fine-tune the latter’s bowling skills.

The young spinner pointed out, “When I came to RCB, Vettori started observing even finer aspects of my bowling. He would let me know when my body would slide a bit or my strides during my run-up were bigger, or my follow through was faster. Together we worked on all these aspects. I started running a lot slower, reduced my delivery strides and because of such changes I am bowling much better.”

Chahal also added that he had a bit of issue with his run-up which the veteran rightly pointed out and helped him rectify. He said, “When Vettori observed my run-up he told me that I was running faster during my run-up and I could go a lot slower. During matches you don't understand if you are running in the same follow through but Vettori would keep observing me during matches. We would then work on it in the nets.”

What Kohli said to him

Crediting the importance of the cash-rich league, Chahal feels that the IPL is an outstanding platform for youngsters to prove their mettle against the best in the business. The spinner who plays for Haryana in the domestic cricket was snapped up by Mumbai Indians in the 2011 auctions and played only one game for them.

However, he rose to fame in the 2011 edition of Champions League T20 in which he bowled economically for the Mumbai-based franchise and also played a key role in the final, picking up two for nine in Mumbai's thumping 31-run win against Chahal’s current franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Leg-spinners thrive on confidence and it requires a courageous captain to show his faith in a leggie. It seems that Chahal relishes playing under his RCB skipper Virat Kohli with whom he first shared the news of his selection to the Indian side.

Chahal reminisced, "When I was named, I was very happy and it was like a dream come true moment for me. I still remember I texted Virat Kohli to share the moment. He congratulated me and all he asked me to do was to stay focused whenever I would get a chance to wear Indian colours.“

It will be interesting to see how Chahal fares in the national colours. He surely is a bright prospect to look out for in future.