IPL 2021: Zaheer Khan speaks about Piyush Chawla’s role in the Mumbai Indians squad
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Piyush Chawla
Piyush Chawla is a veteran of the Indian Premier League with 156 scalps to his name with a brilliant economy of under 8 runs per over. The player was picked up by Mumbai Indians for 2.40 crore Rs in the IPL Auction.
This signing by Mumbai Indians was questioned as the Mumbai Indians already have a leg spinner in Rahul Chahar who has been performing quite well. We now have the reasons as the Mumbai Indians management in their latest video on MI TV explain the idea behind Piyush Chawal’s inclusion.
Piyush Chawla was really happy and excited to be bought up by Mumbai Indians and expressed his views for the same. “I got to know that I have been picked by Mumbai Indians at the auction, so I was quite happy and excited because you want to be a part of the team which is a defending champion and that has done so well in the IPL. So it’s really nice,” said Chawla.
Piyush added to that by pointing out the importance of sharing knowledge and experience with the other spinners in the team.”I have seen Rahul, I have played cricket with Jayant Yadav and Krunal Pandya. It is very important to share each other’s experiences. There would be many things that I know and they wouldn’t, it works vice-versa as well.”
Zaheer Khan speaks on Piyush Chawla
Zaheer Khan who is the Director of Cricket Operations of Mumbai Indians spoke about the experience of Piyush Chawla and his ability to bowl with the new ball. “He has been bowling with the new ball so that has also been a point of discussion when we were looking at finding that experienced leg-spinner,” quoted Zaheer.
Rohit Sharma too expressed his opinions and views about what Piyush Chawla brings into the side and the standards that come alongside him. Rohit stated that “I have played with Piyush since U-19 days and I know he is a very attacking bowler which is something we wanted in our spin bowling department. He was a good buy, to get him into our squad. He is one of the highest wicket-takers in the IPL. He knows the format and opposition, he knows the players.”
Zaheer Khan also added how Piyush Chawla can nurture the young spinners especially Rahul Chahar and the role he plays both on and off the field. He also explained how his experience can help the team deal with pressure situations.
“We value his experience really highly. We have Rahul Chahar also in the team who is an upcoming young talent. The experience of Piyush Chawla is purely going to help him as well. Piyush Chawla is not only going to bring game or skill sets to the team, but also his wealth of experience. He has been in pressure situations, he has a bigger role to play. He is going to be the senior-most spinner in the squad. With his experience, I am sure he will be able to mentor all these spinners which we have in the squad. Sharing those experiences has always worked,” added Zaheer.
Chawla also shared the experiences he had in the Mumbai Indians camp and the healthy environment that is created within the group. “We all know the kind of standard Mumbai Indians sets and as a player, you always want to go to that team where the standards are really high and you want to learn something from that and you just want to share your experience as a player. So since the time I have joined the camp and the environment of the team, I’m just loving every bit of it.” stated Chawla.
Mumbai Indians are all set to play the IPL opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore today at 7:30 pm IST. It would be exciting to see how Piyush Chawla fares this season in sluggish wickets of Chennai and Delhi.
Also Read | IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings sign Jason Behrendorff as Josh Hazlewood’s replacement
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Mohamed Azhar
(370 Articles Published)