‘He had faith in me’ – Yuzvendra Chahal on how Rohit Sharma helped him play for Mumbai Indians

Yuzvendra Chahal was a part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) from 2011 to 2013, but had to wait for two long years to make his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, back in 2011, the tweaker from Haryana had already played for the team, that time in the Champions League T20. Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh were the more established spinners back then for Mumbai.

Chahal, being a youngster had to wait to get his chance. In the CLT20 final, Chahal picked up Mayank Agarwal and Arun Karthik’s wicket. His spell helped MI beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 31 runs. Recalling the game, Chahal said that he got a chance as only 13 players were there in the squad.

“When I joined MI, there were three spinners including me. During the Champions League T-20 that year, only 13 players from our squad were available. Rest were injured. So, I had a feeling that I would get to play and so I did,” Chahal told to ESPNcricinfo.

He was keen to play me: Yuzvendra Chahal

As far as the IPL is concerned, he got his maiden opportunity against the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2013. And it was Rohit Sharma, who showed faith in him and drafted him into the eleven. He didn’t have a great game though as he conceded 34 runs and couldn’t pick up a wicket.

Chahal didn’t forget to credit Rohit, who became MI’s skipper in 2013 itself, taking over from Ricky Ponting. The spinner said that Rohit was impressed with his performance in the CLT20 and was keen on playing him.

“After Rohit became the captain of MI he came and told me that I am playing the coming game. I told him that there were already two senior spinners in the team. To which he said, ‘I’m the captain now, and you are playing.’ He had faith in me because of my performance in the Champions League T20, and he was keen to play me at any opportunity,” he added.

In 2014, Chahal went to the Challengers, led by Virat Kohli, who’s also the national skipper. After six seasons, he is one of the vital cogs in their setup, having churned out a number of match-winning spells.