With 17 wickets from 11 games, Piyush Chawla’s old habit to be among the wickets continues as the leggie finds himself in the fifth spot of the Purple Cap table. The 34-year-old went unsold in the 2022 mega auction but Mumbai Indians got him for Rs 50 lakh, the base price, at the mini-auction later that year to address the spin problem in the squad. Apart from Chawla, MI is yet to field a quality, experienced spinner on the park and most of the heavy lifting has been done by the veteran. The team has tried Hrithik Shokeen, Kumar Kartikeya and Raghav Goyal but it has been Chawla’s experience which has come good for them to control the middle overs to a certain extent.
In an IPL career spanning over 15 years, Chawla has played for four different teams – Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders and now MI – but nothing has changed in his approach and mindset. For him, it still is all about picking wickets and it’s no surprise that he is No.3 in the list of all-time leading wicket-takers in the IPL with 174 wickets from 176 games. After going unsold at the mega auction last year, Chawla wanted to make a comeback to the league and “this comeback was not for anyone else just for myself".
Under Rohit Sharma, the veteran continues to enjoy his craft and is loving the freedom the MI skipper is giving him in the middle. Having played lot of cricket – from junior days to Indian team – together, both Chawla and Rohit share a good bond and bounce ideas off each other. Chawla has played and travelled with various IPL teams in the past but has been very impressed with the set-up Mumbai Indians have in place. He feels the management creates the right atmosphere for youngsters like Tilak Verma and Nehal Wadhera to blossom on the big stage. In an exclusive conversation with News18 CricketNext, Chawla talks about his bond with Rohit, how he continues to stay one step ahead of the batters, and more.
Edited Excerpts:
2023 has been a good year for you and nothing has changed as you continue to trouble the batters and continue to keep it tight.
Well, yes 2023 has been really good and god has been kind because last year when I wasn’t a part of the IPL, I just wanted to make a comeback and this comeback was not for anyone else just for myself and I’m really enjoying my cricket and the way ball is coming out of the hand. I’m just totally enjoying each and every moment of it.
You trust your skills a lot. How important is it to enjoy the process because there will be bad days and bad balls for the leggies.
The most important thing is just to take all those things on your chin because T20 is a kind of format where the bowlers are bound to go for runs so when there is a good day, I just enjoy that and I go back and sleep and same with the bad day. If I have a bad day I just go back, I think about it, I review it in my mind and I sleep.
A leg-spinner needs a big heart to bowl, right? You can’t be too timid in your approach.
Well if you see this format it’s not that just the leg spinner or any other spinner going for runs, everyone is going for runs. So eventually, you’re going for runs in this format so the most important thing is just bowl with a big heart and try to pick as many wickets as possible for the team because that’s the only way you can check the scorecard.
You have played across numerous venues during your career. Any venue specific changes you have done for the Wankhede because the ball comes on to the bat nicely here under lights.
Well I think it’s very important to you know back your strengths because that is something which you have been doing right from the beginning. Like what I was doing when I was like 14 years old and what same thing I am doing it now so it’s almost been 20 years I’m doing the same thing so automatically that becomes my strength. I’m just backing that and I’m making sure that you know just a little bit subtle changes here and there in the pace and line and length as per the batters and as per wicket on that particular day.
You have time and again said that googly remains your major weapon but every googly of yours is different. You try to use the crease, sometimes go slower with the flight. How much do you put into the googly?
First of all, I read the batter. There are some batters who want the ball to come on to the bat while there are some who don’t like the slow wrong ones in there. I just totally read the situation, read the batters – what exactly the strengths are and work accordingly. If you talk about googly, yes that has been my strength and that is something I as a bowler try to finish it on the stumps so if they miss, I hit.
You have had a good season with the Mumbai Indians this year. Do you go into the game with a specific role or does it change as per situation and conditions?
Well for me the plan of action stays the same throughout. I have to pick wickets for the team because that’s my main job and sometimes it happens when you have that luxury of having few runs under your belt so you can just experiment little bit extra than normal. And otherwise just the normal thing just pulling tight lines and keeping the batters quiet and for that I just need to work on my length, line and variations.
You have played a lot of cricket with Rohit Sharma. How has it been working with him at Mumbai Indians and how have been your interactions with the junior players in the squad?
Well it’s been a beautiful journey and me and Rohit played junior cricket together and after that for India also we played together. So now coming here and playing with him it’s a beautiful feeling and the kind of bond we both share. We discuss cricket, we discuss what we can do to the batters and he’s somebody who gives you a free hand as a bowler because I spoke to him and I asked him as well what do you want from me as a you know bowler, he said I just give you a free hand you just do whatever you feel like as a bowler and I am always there to support you.
How has been the journey with MI since last month and a half?
Well it’s been a beautiful journey… those you know 40-50 days so far and there are a lot of ups and downs, there were a few hiccups as well so which was really good to have these kind of crunch situations which really you know shows your character as a player.
Lot of young players are making a mark from the MI team. Who has impressed you the most, any batter or bowler in particular?
There are quite a few names which I can you know name and last year we all saw what Tilak is you know capable of and this year also he has done really well. Nehal has stepped up really well and he has done really good and there’s one bowler Raghav who’s been you know good he just got one game so far but he’s somebody who can really do wonders.
How much role do you think the set-up at MI plays in helping these young cricketers blossom?
Well the support MI gives to their players it’s not only for these two or three months, it’s throughout the year. Whenever they want they can come, they can train here. The coaches are available, the physios, the trainers and the facilities. So it’s a wonderful atmosphere created by MI and which is like really wonderful to see.
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