Why India should groom Yuzvendra Chahal for the World Cup 2019

It’s funny how fast things can happen and good memories are forgotten in international sports. Not too long ago, Ravichandran Ashwin was considered to be the hero for an incredible home season when he picked 82 wickets and won the International Cricketer of the Year award.

One ICC tournament and a drubbing at the hands of Pakistan later, the jury is out on India’s best spin bowler. Much of the criticisms are over-the-top as always, but there is perhaps some semblance of truth in the verdict of the pundits and fans.

For some time now, Ashwin has looked mostly flat in limited overs cricket, sticking to a defensive round the wicket line which has not only rendered him ineffective but also made him leak too many runs. This is a far cry from the bowler who runs through oppositions in Tests.

Question marks are being already raised already over Ashwin’s form and fitness to continue playing white ball cricket. While such questions are still premature at best, the time is ripe to groom a few more quality spinners to add to the squad depth looking ahead to the World Cup 2019.

A few names seem to be doing the rounds when it comes to trying out potential new talents in the spin department but no name is louder at the moment than that of Yuzvendra Chahal.

A good IPL career

The promising leg-spinner first grabbed eyeballs when he took 34 wickets National U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, also becoming the highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Having been signed up by the Mumbai Indians in 2011, he, however, spent the best part of three seasons as a bench warmer, playing just one IPL game for them.

Despite his good performance against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final of the now defunct Champions League Twenty20 where he bowled a match-winning spell of 2 for 9, chances kept eluding him.

Things, however, took a turn for the better as he was snapped up by the RCB at the 2014 auction for his base price of INR 10 lakh. He had a good season, bowling economically and picking up wickets, to end the tournament with 12 scalps to his credit.

Things got better for him as he was the third highest wicket-taker in IPL 2015, coming away with 23 wickets to his credit. He followed it up with another 23 wickets in 2016 – emerging as the second highest wicket-taker after Bhuvneshwar Kumar that season.

His consistent good performances did not go unnoticed and it was only a matter of time before he got called to the Indian team.

A promising start in the blue jersey

With a host of other youngsters, Chahal was called up for the low profile tour to Zimbabwe in 2016 where India chose to send a second string side. In his first match at Harare on 11^th June. Chahal bowled an economical spell, conceding only 27 runs for 1 wicket off his 10 overs.

In his second ODI in the series, he was the pick of the bowlers for his spell of 6-2-25-3, restricting Zimbabwe to a paltry total of 126 and coming away with the Man of the Match award. He followed it up with another brilliant spell of 2 for 25 off his 8 overs in the third ODI, ending the series with 6 wickets.

Though he featured in the T20I series against Zimbabwe on the same tour, Chahal has been unfortunate to have never got a call-up to the ODI side again despite his good performances on that tour.

He next appeared for India in the three-match T20I series against England earlier this year where his stellar performances grabbed the attention of one and all. Though India lost the first match, Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with a spell of 2 for 27 off his four overs.

But it was his match-winning performance in the third T20I that fans still find hard to forget. Chasing a formidable total of 202, England were rocked early by the dismissal of Jason Roy by Chahal in the second over.

But after that, England went on a rampage and were very much in the hunt at 119 for 2 in the 13^th over. That was when Chahal struck back, running through the England line-up and picking up the prized scalps of Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan. He triggered a collapse that saw England lose eight wickets for eight runs in 19 balls.

None of the batsmen had any answers to Chahal’s brilliance as he took it upon himself to turn around the match in a matter of overs. His spell of 4-0-25-6 was a match winning performance and decided the series in India’s favour. Chahal walked away with the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series awards.

A splendid future beckons

Despite Chahal’s match-winning performances, he has been repeatedly overlooked ever since even when it came to ICC tournaments. Many thought he should have been in the Champions Trophy squad given the fact that the second most successful England spinner in the last five years has been Adil Rashid.

India chose to go in with experience instead, picking Ashwin and Jadeja as the frontline spinners, and deciding to bank on the part-timer Kedar Jadhav when required. It is understandable perhaps that India chose experience over youth in a big ICC tournament but the time is ripe now to start grooming Chahal as the third spinner.

A leg-spinner is always a great repertoire to have because he always picks wickets – the reason why India have repeatedly gone back to Amit Mishra in the last few years even though he looks unsuitable for limited overs cricket.

Some of the top limited overs bowlers in the spin department in the world right now are all leg-spinners – one needs to only think of Imran Tahir, Samuel Badree, Rashid Khan and Adil Rashid. And the thing that stands out for all of them is that they are wicket-takers.

Leg-spinners are considered to be a rare breed – the variety and guile they bring to the attack can never be denied. And they are always an aggressive, wicket-taking option who can give the team crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs.

Having played most of his IPL matches on flat decks in Bengaluru which provide a run feast, Chahal has been always successful in bowling well and picking up wickets. One of his major plus points is his fearlessness as he is never afraid to give the ball air to look for wickets.

In all three of the T20Is against England, he came back to take a wicket after being hit for a six in the same over. He didn’t shorten his length after being hit and Dhoni could be clearly heard on the stump microphone encouraging him to flight the ball. He had also been trusted to bowl during the powerplay as he has done so many times for the RCB.

The fact that Chahal could bowl a good length, flight the ball and still stick to the right areas is a testament to the remarkable control he possesses. His RCB captain Virat Kohli had been full of praise for him time and again.

"In the IPL too, I use him [Chahal] in most of the matches [as a wicket-taking option. He never says 'no' to bowling with the new ball or bowling in the middle overs, so I mean having a guy like this is great. He doesn't say 'no' to any situation," he said in an interview to Espncricinfo.

Virat Kohli has already shown a lot of faith on Chahal in the IPL

The feeling of admiration is obviously mutual as Chahal thanked Kohli for the confidence he had in him. In an interview to the Firstpost, he said, “Virat bhai has always given me the freedom. He said, ‘khul ke ball dalo, agar six, four lage to tension nahi lena’ (Bowl with open heart, don't be tense if you are hit for a four or six).”

With Virat Kohli’s confidence in Chahal, it would be only fair to expect more chances will come his way soon. A fearless wicket-taking leg-spinner with guile, ambition and aplomb who can deliver the crucial breakthroughs in the middle overs is the need of the hour for India now.

With the World Cup still a couple of years away, the time is right to groom the talented leg-spinner from Haryana. India must look at the Imran Tahirs and Rashid Khans and realise that a leg-spinner such as Chahal is the crucial missing part in the jigsaw puzzle for Mission 2019.

Which team management in its right mind would choose to ignore a promising, wicket-taking leg-spinner who has already produced match-winning performances in the limited opportunities he has got?

The sooner India does realise that they have an uncut diamond in their possession waiting to be unleashed, the better it would be for them. If they don’t, they might end up missing the bus being oblivious to an unutilized trump card whose worth they for some strange reason willfully chose to ignore.