Shane Warne backs Piyush Chawla's inclusion in Indian team
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla may be out of favour in the eyes of the Indian selectors but he has reportedly found a supporter in the form of Australian legend Shane Warne. Chawla has been among the most consistent performers in IPL history with a tally of 120 wickets and has also done well in domestic cricket over the years. To add to it, his proven abilities with the bat give him that extra edge over other practitioners of his trade.
Speaking about the 27-year old leggie, Warne said, “Piyush Chawla stands out for me in the IPL. I wish India would pick him because I really enjoy watching him bowl. I don’t think a lot of batsmen pick him out of the hand and although he might bowl a little bit of buffet stuff at times, mostly he seems to do well. I’d certainly like him in my T20 side.”
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The Aussie master also spoke about how the art of leg-spin bowling has started to find its footing once again with teams pushing to include leg-spinners in their ranks. “It is great to see the importance placed on leg spin in the game currently. I was at the World T20 and there were about eight or nine in the tournament who had an impact. It is great to see captains have faith in those legspinners – they are not only being picked but getting thrown the ball in tough situations,” Warne was quoted saying.
India turned out one of the few teams in the 2016 World T20 who did not include a leggie in their squad with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja spearheading the spin attack.
Shane Warne was also questioned about the best leg-spinner he ever faced in his career and he was quick to take Anil Kumble’s name. He said, “Mushtaq Ahmed was outstanding, but (the best I faced) has to be Anil Kumble. Given he wasn’t a big turner of the ball, to take 619 Test wickets shows his skill. He thought about the game, had a great strategy, great tactics, and was a real competitor.”
Warne, who retired from international cricket back in 2007, was last seen in action during the All Stars T20 played in the United States last year.