"Now that I have aged, aggression no longer comes naturally" - Yuzvendra Chahal on his new celebration in 3rd IND vs SA 2022 T20I
Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal came roaring back in the third T20I against South Africa, putting up match-winning figures of 3/20 to help the hosts win by 48 runs. The leggie picked up the crucial wickets of Dwaine Pretorius, Rassie van der Dussen and the dangerous Heinrich Klaasen.
Speaking to opener Ruturaj Gaikwad on BCCI's fun segment 'Chahal TV', Yuzvendra Chahal opened up on his new celebration. He also added in a light-hearted way that as he has gotten older, he has realized that it is better to have a subdued celebration.
Chahal also spoke about how hard he has worked in his fielding, especially on the boundary. He said:
"Now that I have aged, aggression no longer comes naturally (laughs about his celebration). But I have worked hard on my bowling and also my fielding. I have a good throw and I am fast in the field so I wanted to field in the boundary and contribute."
Yuzvendra Chahal on what he changed from the last game
In the previous game, Yuzvendra Chahal was taken to the cleaners, especially by Klaasen, as he conceded 49 runs in his four overs.
The leg-spinner subsequently realized that he wasn't turning the ball enough to trouble the Proteas batsmen. He revealed that after having a chat with coach Paras Mhambry and captain Rishabh Pant, he bowled at a quicker pace while also trying to spin the ball.
The changes worked as even Klaasen couldn't get the better of Chahal and eventually succumbed to the leg-spinner's guile. On this, he stated:
"In the previous game, I was bowling a bit quicker and using the slider. So what happens is that even if the pitch has help, it just slides through. So I spoke to Paras (Mhambry) sir and Rishabh and realized that on such a wicket you need to bowl fast leg spin and land it on the seam position so that it sticks into the wicket."
Chahal has once again proved his critics wrong and perhaps made a strong case for why he should be India's first-choice spinner in the T20 World Cup. For now, however, he will look to help India win the fourth T20I against South Africa on Friday (June 17) at Vizag.