The returning Yuzvendra Chahal has once again proved his worth in the middle overs, India’s stand-in captain Rohit Sharma said on Saturday and lauded the leg-spinner’s ability to outthink batsmen.
“This is a very, very new unit. But Chahal, for the last two years has been extremely consistent with how he has performed in white ball cricket. Even in the ODI format, he has done extremely well for us,” said Rohit ahead of the series decider.
“He bowled well in the IPL, and then his performance got recognised and he was picked for the Indian team in the ODI format. Since then, he’s been one of the important members of the squad, and he’s proved that in this series, how important he can be in the middle overs.”
Rohit feels Chahal’s ability to outthink the batsman is what makes him different from others.
“He knows what he’s trying to do, and he exactly knows what the batsman is trying to do. He’s basically trying to stay ahead of the game, ahead of the batsman. That makes him a little more challenging for any batsman. He has understood that really well, and he’s got variation and skills.
“If you have that in this format, you will definitely succeed. He’s bowled well in the middle overs and even in the PowerPlay.
He’s not afraid to bowl even at the end. I used him in the 18th over as well and he bowled pretty well in that over as well. He gives us so much flexibility,” said Rohit.