Yuzvendra Chahal may look diminutive but the 27-year-old surely packs a punch. He has been one of India’s biggest plusses from the last season. He also went on to become the number 1 T20I bowler, which means he taking giant strides in the game. But did you know he was not meant to be a cricketer? One can call him ‘cricketer by chance’! He came to spotlight when he bagged 34 wickets in the National Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy in 2009. Today, he is India’s frontline spinner in limited overs cricket.
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But very few know that he is a former junior national champion in chess. He also represented India at chess in youth championships, though he gave up the game at a serious level when he struggled to find a sponsor. He is listed in World Chess Federation’s official site. The 27-year-old made his first-class debut in 2009 for Haryana and was subsequently signed by Mumbai Indians in 2011 to be part of their IPL squad. He did not get a lot of games that year, but he featured for MI in the Champions Trophy that followed. He was brought on board by the RCB scouts in 2015, since then he has gone on to become one of their go-to bowlers during crunch times.
Young Chahal playing chess
IPL 2018 PROSPECTS:
This year, Chahal is set to play a more important role in the team as he will be the lead spinner in their ranks. Virat Kohli will in all likelihood hold back Chahal for the middle-overs, where he is very effective in choking teams. Kohli could at times look to surprise oppositions by using Chahal in the powerplays.
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