In the upcoming 3-match ODI series Yuzvendra Chahal has been called up to the Indian team who will face South Africa from December 17 to 21.
New Delhi; Legendary South African player AB de Villiers has gone back to the memory lane and lavished praise on India’s leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for how he dismissed him during the IND vs. SA 2018 ODI series. The former cricketers de Villiers and Chahal were once part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL franchise.
In the upcoming 3-match ODI series Yuzvendra Chahal has been called up to the Indian team who will face South Africa from December 17 to 21. However, the veteran spinner was snubbed from the ICC World Cup 2023, he was also excluded from the ongoing T20I series against Australia.
In a recent video uploaded on Yuzvendra Chahal’s YouTube channel, AB de Villiers talked about his dismissal, and he also stated that Chahal is the actual reason why he retired. “I was playing in my home ground in Centurion and I remember it was very hot. I was tired batting on 30-odd and I thought I would get some easy boundaries.”
“However, Yuzi we all know is intelligent. He is a chess player. He knew what I was trying to do and zipped one through. I still remember the sound of the bails. So thank you so much for that Yuzi. You were the actual reason why I retired. I am your bunny now (laughs),” AB de Villiers said.
In the very same session, Chahal also recalled the tour where he and left-arm Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav dismantled the South African batting line-up and helped India win the series by a big margin of 5-1.
On this, Chahal added “I still remember my first tour of South Africa in 2018. It was a huge boost for me and Kuldeep because we bowled together for the first time abroad and there was this thought that it is tough to bowl there. But it was really memorable. Really excited to be coming back after five years.”
The Indian leg-spinner has an outstanding record in one-day cricket in South Africa. Chahal has taken 18 wickets in just nine matches. On this, de Villiers wanted to know how he succeeded in the South African conditions, as the wickets are not spin-friendly.
“I love bounce and wickets in South Africa and Australia have enough bounce. So you can always use variations as a weapon and knowing that batters will try to slog sweep you can always get that top edge. I always try to change my line. I also try to bowl stump-to-stump so when the batter plays, you have a chance,” Chahal said.
India ODI Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
