BENGALURU: When the India A squad to face South Africa A was announced last month, one name stood out. Yuzvendra Chahal was already an integral part of the national team in white-ball cricket. The selectors were keen to see him bowl with the red ball. Before the unofficial Test against South Africa A, he had only played 27 first-class matches.
Despite all the success in 26 ODIs and 26 T20Is, where he has taken 45 and 42 wickets, respectively, the leg-spinner did not do much to impress in whites. He bowled 50 overs in the match over two innings and managed only two wickets.
There were occasions when he bowled full tosses and looked impatient. Besides, he also bowled five no-balls in the second innings. India A coach Rahul Dravid feels that the bowler will get better in red-ball cricket after he starts playing more in this format.
“He has had a lot of success in white-ball cricket. I have been seeing him for the last two and-a-half years. When he came with us to Australia, he wasn’t considered a red-ball player as such,” Dravid said after India A beat South Africa A by an innings and 30 runs on Tuesday.
“We wanted to give him an opportunity to see how he does. It’s about what he can do in red-ball cricket. We are here to supplement and do what is best to make the Indian team stronger. We want to create options for the Indian team. They were keen to know how Chahal performs in red-ball cricket. The more he plays, the more experience he gets.”
After having failed to produce his A game, the leggie will be keen to show that he can deliver with the red ball in the next match. May be, he can take a leaf out of Mohammed Siraj’s book.
The pacer, like Chahal, lacks experience in red-ball cricket but managed to make the right noise, picking up 25 wickets in his last three matches for India A.
“The last three four-day games, in England and here, has been terrific. To get 25 wickets in three games is terrific. It’s his maturity that stands out. He is someone who has played very less first-class matches,” said Dravid. The next match starts on Friday.
Ashim.sunam@newindianexpress.com
Brief scores: India A 584/8 dec bt South Africa A 246 & 308 (Zubayr Hamza 63, Rudi Second 94, Mohammed Siraj 5/73, Rajneesh Gurbani 2/45).