File photo of Yuzvendra Chahal.© X (formerly Twitter)
Out-of-favour India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has proved his mettle in the longest format of the game with a successful County stint. Playing for Northamptonshire, Chahal picked only one wicket in the first two games before making a remarkable comeback. The leg-spinner dismissed 18 batters in the next two matches, with his best figures in an innings being 5/45. Chahal, a proven match-winner for India in white-ball cricket, is yet to make his Test debut. After his terrific performance in England, he said that he wanted to present his case for India's upcoming Test series in England next year.
India are set to play a five-match Test series in England in June-July next year.
"County cricket is tough cricket. It gave me an opportunity to showcase my skills against a very good standard of cricket. With India touring England next year, I wanted to show how good I am," Chahal told Times of India.
Notably, Chahal was the part of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning Indian team, and he was also invovled in captain Rohit Sharma's famous distinctive walk to the podium to receive the trohpy that went viral on social media.
During an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rohit revealed that spin duo Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav suggested the distinctive walk to make the moment memorable.
When PM Modi mentioned Rohit's distinctive walk saying, "I noticed two extreme things in which I could see emotion. When you are going to collect the trophy..."
To this, Rohit added, "It was such a huge moment for all of us. We all have been waiting for this for years. So, the boys told me 'Don't go just like that, do something different'."
The Prime Minister jokingly asked, "Was it Chahal's idea?". Rohit replied "Chahal and Kuldeep" with a laugh around the room.
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma's unique walk up to the podium is similar to the way Argentina legend Lionel Messi received the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
(With IANS Inputs)