I decided to celebrate milestones in life with my special pose after it became viral: Yuzvendra Chahal [CT Exclusive]

That Yuzvendra Chahal is an absolute ingenious and often leaves the batter with his back against the wall in the limited-overs games is nothing new. Chahal, who mostly doesn’t depend on the turn of the ball, has a knack for outsmarting the batters with his lethal variations. A tried and tested hero of the game has often bailed out Men in Blue from a predicament through his street-smart spells and calm composure. Maintaining his reputation as second to none for seven years now, the 32-year-old stands to be the highest wicket-taker (91) for India in T20Is. 

Chahal recently added another feather to his glorious cap when he trumped veteran Dwayne Bravo to become the highest wicket-taker (187) in the history of the Indian Premier League. The accomplished spinner got hold of the milestone during Rajasthan Royals’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders while getting the better of Nitish Rana in what was a brilliant spell (4/25) from him at the Eden Gardens. 

Recently, the RR spinner graced the Red Bull Campus Cricket National Finals event with his presence in Dehradun and guided the budding cricketer to make their way in the game. In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, the spin wizard threw light on various aspects of his game, the youngster who impressed him the most in IPL 2023, and much more. 

Q.1 RBCC is a great platform for budding cricketers and how has this platform helped RR find talents across India?

This is a great tournament where players compete from very small districts and give their 100 percent because they know, someone is watching them for better prospects. Rutu and KL have also played in this tournament and I think it’s a great initiative for many young cricketers.

Q.2 How do you assess India’s chances in the 2023 World Cup and WTC Final?

I am very positive about India’s chances in World Cup. For WTC, we just missed last time but I think we have an edge this time because we have just defeated Australia in India only. We have batsmen and bowlers in great form and I feel they can do the task in the UK, so, I’ll go 70-30 maybe in India’s favour.

Q.3 One Uncapped player that has impressed you the most in IPL 2023?

There are many but I will go with Dhruv Jurel because of the way he has worked on himself. I saw him last year and he worked very hard and it showed in his performance this year.

Q.4 We know you are an outstanding chess player but is there any player in the Indian team who comes close to giving you a competition?

No one (Laughs)

Q.5 Tell us something about your iconic pose which has become too viral among the fans now

I think it happened in the 2019 World Cup and I was not playing that match, so, I was just chilling near the ropes as it’s easier to get things from there rather dressing room. I was not knowing what is about to happen and after the match, my pictures went too viral and were used in several memes. However, I have all of those memes now and I love and enjoy them till they are used in a decent manner. That picture kept doing rounds after World Cup and I decided, whenever I will achieve something special in life, I will celebrate with that pose. I did the same when I bagged a hat-trick and fifer against KKR in 2022.

Q.6 Kul-Cha has definitely been our favourite pair in the white-ball format and when can we see the duo returning together for India?

Well, that’s totally management’s call.

Q.7 Which spell of yours would you rate the best one from IPL 2023?

Definitely, the one against KKR where I grabbed four wickets and became the highest wicket-taker in IPL’s history. It happened at Eden Gardens and that feeling of becoming so successful in such a big league was truly amazing. You cannot show much emotion at that time but after the match, I was really proud of myself.