‘MAHI BHAI AND I PLAY PUBG TOGETHER’

Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal claims he’s shy, yet admires actor Ranveer Singh’s bindaas style

Indian woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana describes him as an “inspiration” while teammate and right-arm fast bowler Mohammed Shami describes him as “naughty”. But, right-arm leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal describes himself as “shy” and a “funny kinda” guy.

The first-ever spinner to take six wickets in an ODI in Australia, Chahal confesses being a “bit nervous” playing in Australia. “After the first over, I realised it was my day,” he laughs. The cricketer says he is motivated by the league of senior players. “Whenever I feel something, I always talk to the senior players — Virat (Kohli) bhaiya, Mahi

(MS Dhoni) bhai, Rohit (Sharma) bhaiya, Shikhar (Dhawan) bhaiya. They always help me. When Virat bhaiya is not there, I always [speak to] Rohit bhaiya and ask him what to do and what not to do. Mahi bhai and I play PUBG together sometimes (laughs). Seveneight people play PUBG for two hours. We go for dinners, [have] fun. It’s a big thing to play under Mahi bhai. He was my first captain. Whenever we need help in bowling, Kuldeep (Yadav) and I always ask him.”

But it’s not the seniors who have changed the shy Chahal to the ‘funny guy’. “I am a shy type of guy. [I’ve become] more confident after doing Chahal TV — I randomly started taking interviews in the bus. Maine waise hi kar diya ki ‘Chahal TV’ pe aapka swagat hai’. Logon ko kaafi pasand aaya, kyunki yeh kaafi hatke hai. Masti bhi kar sakte hain aur cricket ke baare mein bhi pooch sakte hain,” says the 28year-old Haryana-born cricketer. Chahal TV, videos of his post-match interactions with teammates in his quirky style, are posted on the BCCI’s Twitter handle and website.

Chahal loves tattoos and boasts one of an anchor and compass, of Shiva and yet another of his zodiac sign, Leo. “I see [the tattoos] when I feel low,” he says.

While many cricketers are style icons, Chahal draws inspiration from actor Ranveer Singh. “The guy is very bindaas. He never hides what he wants to do. I love his films,” adds Chahal, who was ecstatic about his shoot with the actor’s stylist Nikita Jaisinghani.

Incidentally, Ranveer is playing Kapil Dev in a biopic on the legendary cricketer. And while the film is on the 1983 World Cup win, another World Cup is just around the corner and the spinner with a stellar ODI record is thrilled. “I’m very excited as it will be my first World Cup. In the 50-over format we have the best team. There will be a lot of pressure, as the whole country wants the Cup. But it’s our job to tackle the pressure,” Chahal says.

“Ten years back, while playing Ranji Trophy, I didn’t think I’d play for India. The journey has been very nice,” says Chahal, who is also on a personal high. The cricketer has built his “dream house” in Gurugram, where his parents will shift from Jind, Haryana. “I really like the city,” he adds.

Our dressing room is very chilled out. It’s a family kinda behaviour...We know when we have to be serious on the field, and when [we can be on the] funnier side. YUZVENDRA CHAHAL CRICKETER

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ YUZI_CHAHAL23 PHOTO: SHIVAM SAXENA/HT Yuzvendra Chahal, a PUBG fan, recently shared on Instagram that he had reached a milestone in the game; (inset) with Mahendra Singh Dhoni