'Rohit Sharma came to my room and said, tu khel raha hai' - Yuzvendra Chahal recalls his IPL debut for MI in 2013

India’s decorated leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal shares a good camaraderie with limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma. The two players hit off really well and have often grabbed headlines owing to their funny yet witty banter on social media. It is no secret that Chahal is the product of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, not many are aware of the fact that the leggie made his debut in the T20 Championship in 2013 for Mumbai Indians. It was Rohit who gave Chahal a chance to play a match and it changed his life for good. Soon after making his IPL debut, the leg-spinner was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore and there has been no looking back for the Haryana born as he is now one of the main spinners in Team India and RCB’s bowling set-up.

Revealing the details of his close association with the opening batsman, Chahal recalled that after Rohit became the captain of Mumbai Indians, he assured the leg-spinner that he (Chahal) will be playing the next match. It was a big deal for Chahal to feature in the Playing XI as MI had two world-class spinners already in Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha.  

“I have a close bond with Rohit bhaiya because we have known each other since 2011 when I first came to Mumbai Indians. I made my IPL debut because of Rohit bhaiya. I was not getting any opportunities and Rohit bhaiya took over the captaincy from Ricky Ponting in that game only. 

“He came to my room and said ‘Tu match khel raha hai!’ (You are playing the match!). I was [surprised] because we already had Bhajji pa (Harbhajan Singh), Ojha bhaiya (Pragyan Ojha) and we never played 3 spinners,” Chahal told India TV.

Rohit Sharma is like an elder brother to me: Yuzvendra Chahal

Though Chahal featured in the next match for MI, he went wicketless and took no further part in the tournament. However, the leg-spinner got his real breakthrough season after joining the RCB camp as a good performance in the IPL soon resulted in him donning the Indian colours. 

Further, speaking about his bond with Rohit Sharma, the 30-year-old revealed that he, Rohit, and Kuldeep Yadav are almost inseparable in the Indian camp as they always stay together and have a good understanding. Chahal revealed that the relationship is based on mutual trust and he treats Rohit like his elder brother.

“Then when I came to the Indian team there he, me and Kuldeep [Yadav], we always stayed together, always ate together. He’s like an elder brother to me. You can have fun with him while knowing that you can’t cross the line because of the respect you have for him. So, like this, our bond became strong,” Chahal concluded.

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