Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal revealed a lot in the latest episode of Breakfast with Champions. Chahal went on to discuss the initial days of his career and how his father helped him by building wickets in the middle of their farm in Jind. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) leggie explained what it takes to bowl at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru despite the short boundaries.
However, one of the highlights of the candid interview was him saying that he is an underrated batsman. The 27-year-old revealed that he has more than 1,000 runs in Under-19 cricket and once scored 135 runs for Haryana when he came to bat after a batting collapse had reduced the team to a score of 90 runs for 7 wickets.
The shocking part of the interview was the bond he shared with former Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds. Playing for Mumbai Indians during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2011, the two developed a bond. Symonds and his wife call him ‘Apples’ for his not-so-bulging biceps.
Chahal-Symonds still stay in touch and talk to each other. Whenever on Australia tour, Chahal goes on a fishing trip with Symonds. The Australian all-rounder’s wife learned to cook ‘butter chicken’ especially for him. He feels that Symonds is misunderstood, owing to the ‘monkeygate’ incident involving Harbhajan Singh. He said,
“7 saal ho gaye. Me usko abhi bhi message me kuch gaali likh ke bhej dunga na acha hi reply aayega, jam ke.”
Chahal revealed that Symonds shares the videos of his children with him. Chahal also recalled a time Symonds danced with him on ‘Ragini’ (Haryanvi folk song).
Here’s the video of the interview –
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Chahal took 12 wickets in the recently concluded IPL 2018 for RCB. They failed to qualify for the playoffs after their loss in the last league game to Rajasthan Royals. Chahal will be back into the action during two-match T20I series against Ireland starting June 27 followed by England tour.
