Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal said bowling in red-ball cricket helps sharpen a bowler’s mind and improve skills as batsmen do not attack as much as in white-ball cricket.
Chahal returned to long-form cricket after a gap of two years, playing for India A in the recently-concluded four-day series against South Africa A, which India won 1-0. Speaking after the second game in Alur, Chahal said playing days’ cricket after two years wasn’t easy.
“It does take a bit of time to adjust because the batsmen don’t have a lot of pressure,” Chahal said. “In ODIs and T20s, if the run rate is high, then the batsman tries to go after you and get out. But in the longer form you need to get them out with your skills.”
The series brought modest returns for Chahal, as he finished with four wickets from two matches at 55.75. “You need to use your brain more. So it’s quite different because you need to bowl 30-35 overs here, but only four overs in T20s,” he said.
The 28-year-old last played first-class cricket in 2016 and put the lack of red-ball cricket to his commitments with the India limited-overs team, where he is a key member and part of India’s spin attack alongside Kuldeep Yadav.
“After 2016, I have continuously played white-ball cricket, so I didn’t get time,” he said. “But if you bowl with the red ball, your bowling will improve and your mind will get sharper. You need to adjust on these kinds of surfaces where spinners don’t have much help, so you use your idea – whether bowling outside off stump or changing the field – so in this format you need more planning.”
Acknowledging that the selectors want to try him out in the longer versions of the game, Chahal emphasised on the need to stay fit. “Because there’s a difference between red and white, so the selectors sent me here,” he said.
“A two-year gap is a long time, and I need to stay fit for longer periods, because you need to bowl 30-35 overs a day. It’s difficult to bowl a good ball but to take a wicket off it, that’s even more difficult. The more I play this format, the more I’ll mature.”
While his white-ball partner in the senior team, Yadav, is part of the Indian squad for the first three of the five England Tests, Chahal wasn’t looking at selection for the remaining two games of the series, which India are trailing 2-0 after losing the second Test at Lord’s by an innings and 159 runs.
Chahal’s next appearance with India is likely to be in the 50-over Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates in September.
“My experience of England was very good because it was my first tour, but my focus is on this game. If my name doesn’t come, then my mind will be on the Asia Cup. So I’ll shift my focus on that series after this game,” he said.
Despite conditions in England being good for swing bowling, Chahal remained optimistic about India’s chances of a comeback in the series. “The conditions are great for pacers in England, swing is there too. You saw James Anderson reached 550 wickets,” Chahal said. “Batting is always tough there, but, it’s a five-game series. Even if you lose early matches, you have the opportunity to come back in the final three games.”
