Is build ke saath to nahi hoga” - Yuzvendra Chahal on how father’s advice made him switch from fast bowling to leg-spin

Yuzvendra Chahal has revealed that he was a fast bowler during his school days, but switched to leg spin after advice from his father, who was a university-level cricketer himself. The cricketer’s father candidly told him that with his build he would not succeed as a fast bowler.

Chahal is regarded as one of India’s finest spinners in white-ball cricket. Having made his international debut in 2016, he has represented the Men in Blue in 72 ODIs and 75 T20Is, claiming 121 and 91 wickets, respectively.

In an interview on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube channel, the cricketer revealed how he went from being a fast bowler to a leg-spinner and his dad’s role in the same.

Chahal said:

“Earlier, I was a fast bowler in school. I am talking about when I was 6-7 years old. Dad used to play for a university. In fact, he was even university captain for five years. I was a fast bowler, but dad told me, ‘is build ke saath to nahi hoga’ [you cannot become one with this build]. Then, I started bowling leg-spin.”

Elaborating on changing his mode of bowling, the 32-year-old added that leg spin came rather naturally to him.

“It’s not like I saw someone, it just happened automatically. I started bowling leg-spin from the age of 8. When I was 10 years old, I played U-14 for the first time for Haryana. From there, professional cricket started. It’s been like 23 years now,” he added.

Apart from playing for India, Chahal is also the leading wicket-taker in the IPL. In 145 matches, he has claimed 187 wickets at an average of 21.69.

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“Mahi bhai told me to do it once” - Chahal on bowling off-spin in an international match

During the interaction, Chahal also revealed that he once bowled off-spin in a match against Sri Lanka at the request of MS Dhoni since a left-hander was batting. He, however, added that the experiment was a short-lived one.

The Team India spinner recalled:

“I have bowled off-spin as well in international cricket. Mahi bhai [MS Dhoni] told me to do it once. In 2017, we were playing in Sri Lanka and a left-hander was batting. He asked me whether I can bowl off-spin in between. I replied that I haven’t even bowled it in the nets. He still told me to try it. I bowled a couple of deliveries and then said let it be.”

Explaining why he did not continue bowling off-spin in the game, Chahal added:

“Bowling off-spin suddenly in international cricket is not easy. The body gets tight because you think a lot and are under pressure. That short ball happens because of this.”

Chahal will next be seen in action during India’s white-ball leg of the West Indies tour, which begins with the first ODI on July 27.