Yuzvendra Chahal on the verge of becoming third Indian bowler to pick 50 T20I wickets  

Yuzvendra Chahal has a golden opportunity to join a list of Indian bowlers to have picked 50 T20I wickets. Having been dropped from the national T20 recently, Chahal made a statement of intent in the first T20I against Bangladesh where he was the pick of the bowlers for India. batsmen. Now, the leggie has two shots to pick up three wickets to join the elite list of Indian bowlers.

Having received his ODI and T20I caps against Zimbabwe way back in 2016, Chahal has established himself as one of the two premier spin bowlers for India in the shorter formats along with the Kuldeep Yadav, but of late, younger spinners like Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar have been given the nod ahead of Chahal.

Chahal's T20I record isn't bad at all; in 32 matches, he has picked up 47 wickets at an average of 21.19 and an economy of 7.94.

With India setting its eyes on next year's T20 silverware, several fringe players have been tried out post the World Cup. But with none of them cementing a place, Chahal finds his way back in the T20I team.

Yuzvendra Chahal is just 3 scalps away from joining an élite list of Indian bowlers who have picked up 50 or more T20I wickets.

This list includes Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin is the current leading wicket-taker (52) for India in T20Is, another record that isn't too far from the sights of Chahal. Jasprit Bumrah is second on the list with 51 wickets.

Yuzvendra Chahal bowled brilliantly for India against Bangladesh on 3rd November at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi where his match figures read 4-0-24-1. It could have been even better if Rohit Sharma had reviewed LBW appeals against Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim. Krunal Pandya dropped a sitter at deep mid-wicket off Chahal's bowling in the 18th over and it seemed that Chahal had run out of all his luck. He mixed his guile with subtle variations and troubled the Bangladeshi batsmen.

India play their 2nd T20I on Thursday in Rajkot. Chahal's return to T20I cricket has not been bad at all and it remains to be seen whether he can prize out three scalps from the remaining two matches. Given his caliber, he would be looking forward to crossing this landmark in Rajkot itself.

Also see – T10 schedule