Flat Deck or Turner, I Don’t Look At Tracks For Assistance: Yuzvendra Chahal

New Delhi: Leading up to the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales, there was a lot of debate on the kind of wickets that will be on offer. Some even went to the extent of judging from Indias tour of England last summer and said that Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav would rule the roost.

But the wickets in the first few games of the showpiece event haven’t been turners at all. While there has been some assistance for the spinners, nothing to write home about. Even as critics are now contemplating on how effective India’s spin attack will be, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal isn’t perturbed. These are the exact wickets that he had hoped for when boarding the flight to London.

Speaking to IANS, just before leaving for the showpiece event, Chahal said that while people on the outside may think that all spinners want rank turners, he likes wickets which are flat and have a bit of bounce on offer — just like the ones being prepared in this World Cup. In fact, he made it clear that he has more faith in his own abilities than looking at tracks for assistance.

“There was a bit of turn for the spinners even during the England-Pakistan series before the World Cup. But a lot will depend on the overhead conditions. Personally, I don’t like rank turners. I love bowling on flat wickets with a bit of bounce. That personally suits my game. Also, as a wrist spinner you do induce turn irrespective of how the wicket is and I have never believed in looking at tracks for assistance.

“Bowling on rank turners is also an art, but if you ask me, I would love flat wickets with a bit of bounce and that gets me going. You can’t bowl fast on flat wickets and you need to give it loop so that the ball takes turn. On turning wickets, the pace has to be increased since you already are getting turn,” he said.

And going by the looks of the wicket in Southampton for India’s opening game against South Africa on Wednesday, Chahal must be waiting to see skipper Virat Kohli signal towards him to mark his run-up and unleash himself on the Proteas batsmen.

While his own form leading to the World Cup was brilliant, captain Kohli had a slightly rough outing in the Indian Premier League, scoring just 464 runs from 14 games. Hundred of those runs came in one game against Kolkata Knight Riders. But Chahal feels that one shouldn’t confuse the skipper’s IPL form with what is in store when he takes strike in the World Cup.

From playing chess to now leading India’s spin charge in the World Cup, it has indeed been a dream journey for Chahal and the leg-spinner says that he started aiming for a spot in the World Cup team only after performing well on foreign soil. IANS

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