Yuzvendra Chahal posts a throwback picture from 2002 flaunting his masterclass in chess

India’s one of the most celebrated leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is known for his skiddy bowling action and accurate line and length. Since his debut on the big stage against Zimbabwe on June 11, 2016, the spinner has represented India in 54 One Day Internationals and 45 T20 Internationals scalping 92 and 59 wickets respectively at an economy of 5.20 and 8.29.

Apart from cricket, Chahal boasts of excelling in the game of Chess too. It is a well known fact that Chahal is a former Chess player and has represented India internationally in chess before turning to playing cricket professionally. Chahal had started playing chess from an early age of 6 and went on to bag awards in many competitions to make a name for himself.

In 2002, Chahal had won the National Under-11 Championship in Kolkata. The following year, he took huge leaps in his board-game career and represented India at the World (under-12) Championship in Halkidiki, Greece. In his Chess career, that spanned from 1997 to 2003, the spinner has played against the Superstars of Chess today like Eltaj Safarli at the Asian and World Junior Championships.

He still has an Elo rating of 1956 on the International Chess Federation website despite not playing any professional chess for quite some time. Though Chahal has made a name for himself in the world of cricket, he loves chess and often posts pictures of himself playing the game in his leisure time.

The 30-year-old is also fond of the time he had spent while playing in Chess competitions. On February 7, Sunday, Chahal took to his official Instagram handle to post a story where he shared a memory of him winning a chess competition in 2002.

Yuzvendra Chahal likely to return to cricket field in March

Chahal was last seen donning the Blue jersey during the Australia tour where he featured in two One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals. The spinner had a decent outing in Australia as he had produced a match-winning spell during the first T20I of the three-match series by scalping three wickets.

The leg-spinner is expected to make a comeback to the cricket field with the five-day T20I and three-match ODI series against England, starting from March 12 at Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.