Chahal’s chance to be mentor
COLOMBO: The Indian squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy has players without much international exposure, a majority of them new faces in the bowling department.
Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal complete the bowling line-up. Siraj and Thakur have played two matches for India, Sundar one. Unadkat has played six, Axar 11 while Chahal has the most caps, 16. Other than Suresh Raina, who bowls occasional offspin, the 27-year-old leg-spinner is the most experienced bowler.
CHAHAL’S CHALLENGE
In a team that included Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, Chahal’s role was to attack and take wickets in the middle overs. Without Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya and Kuldeep, Chahal will have to mentor the young guns besides taking wickets consistently.
Chahal has been the best bowler in T20s in the past year. Since February 2017, he has taken 22 wickets, including 6/25 against England in Bangalore, averaging 16.72 with an economy rate of 8.86.
But there is a small concern. Among bowlers who have taken more than 10 wickets since 2017, Chahal’s economy rate is the worst for spinners. Whenever Chahal has conceded an economy rate of nine or more, India has endured a mixed bag. In theT20 game in Sri Lanka in September, Chahal went for 43 runs in four overs but took three wickets. In the high-scoring clash against the same opponents in Indore in December, Chahal conceded 52 runs in four overs but took four wickets.
Although India won both games, Sri Lanka attacked him and if they adopt this strategy in the tournament, India’s bowling could come under pressure.
In two other instances when Chahal went for over nine runs an over, India lost. In Rajkot against New Zealand, Chahal went for 36 in four overs as the Kiwis won by 40 runs. In the Centurion ODI, Chahal was hammered all over the park by South Africa. His 4-0-64-0 were the worst figures for an Indian bowler in T20.
As a potential leader of the attack in the T20 tri-series, the tournament will offer Chahal a new dynamic and challenge in conditions that will suit him.
The Indian squad led by Rohit Sharma landed in Sri Lanka on Sunday evening. The tri-series
starts on Tuesday.