'I felt somewhere that my name might pop up' - Yuzvendra Chahal wants to don the whites for India

Yuzvendra Chahal is a product of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Chahal made a name for himself while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and his exploits in IPL paved way for his entry to the Indian contingent. Since his debut for India in June 2016 against Zimbabwe, the leg-spinner hasn’t looked back.

The 30-year-old has grown by leaps and bounds to establish himself as an indispensable part of the Indian setup. Thus far, the 30-year-old has featured in 54 One Day Internationals and 48 T20 Internationals for India. In 54 ODIs, the leg-spinner has 92 wickets at an economy rate of 5.20 under his belt while he has picked 62 wickets in 48 T20Is at an economy rate of 8.40.

Though Chahal has achieved success in the cricket fraternity, his one dream is yet to be fulfilled. The leg-spinner hasn’t received a call-up for the purest format of the game and still harbors the dream of donning the whites. In an interactive session, the Haryana-born revealed that just like every player, he also wants to represent India in Test cricket.

The 30-year-old added that he has picked 50 wickets in the ten First-Class matches and is waiting for the selectors to notice his performance in the longest format. “Obviously, you want to wear the whites. If someone calls you a Test player, there is a no bigger compliment. In the last 3-4 years, I have picked 50 wickets in the ten first-class matches, out of which two are India A games,” Chahal revealed as quoted by Sports Tak.

India is scheduled to travel to New Zealand to lock horns against New Zealand in the final of the World Test Championship followed by a five-match Test series against England. For the same, the BCCI has announced a 20-member squad along with four stand-by players. 

This time I wasn’t expecting a call-up: Yuzvendra Chahal

Chahal wasn’t expecting a Test call-up for the England team due to the presence of an excellent lot of spinners including Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel. However, there was a tiny hope in his heart that his name might pop up as some of the spinners aren’t physically fit. However, the RCB player was only met with disappointment. 

“This time I wasn’t expecting a call-up. But yes, when England toured India and some of our spinners were injured, I felt somewhere that my name might pop up. You see Axar came in and did well. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep are already there, so you feel that 3-4 players are already in the reckoning and it will be difficult for you to get a chance. 

“Especially when they are performing so well. Ashwin bhaiyya completed 400 Test wickets and Jaddu Pa has over 250 wickets. Looking at them you feel that you have to improve more to get a chance,” Chahal admitted.

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