Yuzvendra Chahals spinning success For 19-year-old Chandigarh spinner Yuzvendra Chahal,the National Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy has come like a new lease of life. Playing for Haryana and spinning out batsman after batsman with his leg-breaks,Chahal finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament (34 wickets) and if you add up the runs that he scored with the bat (300),you know he could be a good all rounder in the making. It is a different matter,though,that his side Haryana could not make it beyond the semifinals,losing to Mumbai. But Chahal has gained in stride and confidence. The Jind-born lad says,"The tournament turned out to be quite good for me as a player. If we had reached the final,it would have been great but we lost in the semis. What I learnt in the tournament was that you need to have variety if you want to get batsmen out. My legspinners and googlies were coming out of the hand well and most of the players I played against complimented me for my bowling." Chahal is a student of DAV College-10 and practices at the GMSS-19 Cricket Academy under Surinder Singh Baijee. Sharing his thoughts on the young cricketer,Baijee says,"He has great potential in him to become a match-winner. Constant match practice and hard-work will fetch him good opportunities in the coming time. He needs to develop match temperament along with an attacking outlook. He has attended three camps at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore,which has helped him a lot. In my opinion he is the cricketer to watch out for." Chahal attended coaching camps at the NCA in 2006,07 and 08 under Dav Whatmore and Praveen Amre. "Right now I am focused on my routine practice. Definitely,I am keeping my fingers crossed for the Haryana Ranji one-day squad announcement. I hope to make the cut this year and perform for Haryana and deliver the goods," Chahal feels,adding: "Maybe good performances at the Ranji level can fetch me an India Under-19 spot."
