'Ashwin Bhai, Jaddu and Kuldeep have done well for India' - Yuzvendra Chahal expresses his desire to don the Test jersey
Chahal, who played his last Ranji Trophy match in 2018, hasn't ever been picked for Indian Test squad.
Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the best spinners in India at this moment. After his debut in 2016, he has established himself as a regular member of the limited-overs side. He is one of two leg-spinners who have done really well and garnered success for India in overseas and as well as home conditions. The other one would be his ‘spin twin’ Kuldeep Yadav.
However, unlike Yadav, Chahal is not being considered for the Indian Test team. In fact, he has not played a First-class match in almost one and a half years. In a recent interview, the leg-spinner admitted his desire to play Test cricket. During the interaction, he admitted that he hasn’t played enough Ranji Trophy games to be given a chance at the Test level.
I need to spend more time bowling in Ranji Trophy: Yuzvendra Chahal
“Test cricket is the most challenging. In recent years, Ashwin Bhai and Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) plus Kuldeep have done well for India,” the wrist-spinner quoted. “I too want to play Tests but for that, I need to play more red-ball cricket at the domestic level. I have played just 31 first-class games. I need to spend more time bowling in Ranji Trophy perhaps and also make an impression”, Chahal said in an interview with Hindustan Times.
The 29-year-old said that during his time at Mumbai Indians, he had learnt a lot from Harbhajan Singh. Chahal was with the Mumbai franchise from 2011 to 2013. He also said that Ashwin is a consistent bowler. The leggie from Haryana also expressed his desire to play a lot of cricket for India.
“I played with Bhajji paaji for three years in the Mumbai Indians. He has been a great influence. I have learnt from him how to be aggressive as a spinner and attack the batsman. Ashwin bhai is a consistent bowler. I hope I can follow in their footsteps and serve India for a long period”, Chahal said.
It was in 2017 when Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav slowly replaced Ashwin and Jadeja as the spin duo in the ODI and T20I format. Since then, Jadeja has found his way back in the side but Ashwin hasn’t.
Chahal has played only 31 first-class matches in his whole career. He took 84 wickets in those matches. However, his ODI and T20I records are impressive. In 52 ODIs, he has taken 91 wickets and in 42 T20Is, he has taken 55 wickets.
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