India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has issued an open challenge to the selectors after a successful career for Northamptonshire in County Championship cricket. Keeping in mind Team India’s Test tour of England in 2025, Yuzvendra Chahal said he wants to show his worth in English conditions.
Chahal did not get a chance in any match during India’s successful T20 World Cup 2024 in June. The white-ball tour of Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka did not feature the right-arm leg spinner. He decided to play for Northamptonshire in the County Championship and proved his worth.
The 34-year-old began his county campaign for Northamptonshire by taking five wickets in a nine-wicket win over Kent. He had a few poor performances but bounced back with 18 wickets in the last two matches. He has demonstrated the ability to adapt and perform in an English environment.
Opportunity to showcase my skills – Yuzvendra Chahal
Ahead of India’s tour of England in 2025, Yuzvendra Chahal said he wanted to show how good he is in challenging English conditions. He said playing in county cricket gave him the opportunity to showcase his abilities against high-quality opposition.
“County cricket is tough cricket. It gave me an opportunity to showcase my skills against a very good standard of cricket. I wanted to show how good I am when I tour India and visit England next year,” Chahal told TOI.
“First of all, I am very grateful to Mr Brindon for giving me the opportunity to play in county cricket. Then the coaches at Rajasthan Royal introduced me to Krish Patel, a highly educated 18-year-old cricketer who I think is very smart. I hope he will play in the future. “I want to see him perform internationally, and if I can help, I will always be there,” he added.
India are scheduled to visit England for a five-match Test series in the next cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). Chahal is yet to make his Test debut for India. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were India’s first-choice spin bowlers in Test cricket.
Yuzvendra Chahal played for Kent last County Championship season.
Many Indian players see county cricket as an opportunity to improve their skills. Recently, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar and Prithvi Shaw participated in the county match. Brindon Bagirathan is the key link between Indian players and English cricket opportunities.
Chahal took part in a few of Kent’s games during the last County Championship season. The veteran spin bowler has taken 18 wickets in eight matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at an impressive economy rate of 3.70. Chahal made occasional appearances for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy.
The Haryana cricketer played 39 first-class matches during his career. He took 115 wickets at an average of 32.29 with best bowling figures of 6/44.
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