I have to wait for my turn, says Chahal

‘Competition is a good thing because it pushes you to work harder', says the Indian leg-spinner.

Unsurprisingly, Chahal was left out from the Test series against West Indies starting October 4, despite a good Asia Cup and ODI series against England.

Over the past year, Yuzvendra Chahal's ability to pick up wickets and break partnerships in limited-overs game has cemented his place in the Indian line-up.

The 28-year-old, however, has played only 29 First Class matches since making his debut back in 2009 and has not been favoured for the longer format of the game.

Unsurprisingly, he was left out from the Test series against West Indies starting October 4, despite a good Asia Cup and ODI series against England. But that doesn’t mean the right-arm wrist spinner doesn’t harbour desires to play Test cricket.

Legends

“Obviously I want to play Test cricket but at the moment there are players like Kuldeep, Jadeja and Ashwin who perform consistently. So I have to wait for my turn and whenever I get the chance, I’ll make sure I’m ready because I have to be at my best when competing with legends like them,” Chahal said in Chennai, where he was playing for Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Right step

He believes the unofficial Test matches against South Africa A was a step in the right direction. “I was playing red ball cricket after two years and obviously when you play after so long you’re out of touch. But it was a good learning experience for more red-ball cricket in the future,” he said.

Chahal and his spin-twin Kuldeep Yadav have replaced the duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the primary spinners in the limited over format.

That could very well be the case in the World Cup next year but he is aware of the competition.

“There is a lot of healthy competition for the spots. You know that if you don’t bowl well there’s always someone ready to take your place.

“It’s a good thing because it pushes you to work harder,” he said.

And he doesn’t want to sit on his laurels and reduce his career to a flash in the pan. “What has happened in the past year is a big achievement for me as everyone wants to play for India.

"And I want to play for at least seven to eight years and not just play 30-40 matches. So I have to keep challenging myself to get better,” said Chahal.