Lockdown: Yuzvendra Chahal returned to his old game, told- what he learned in cricket from chess
Chess master-turned-cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal took part in the online blitz tournament organized by Chase Dot Kam on Sunday.
Chess master-turned-cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal took part in the online blitz tournament organized by Chase Dot Kam on Sunday. During this, he said that this game taught him to be restrained on the cricket field. Former national under-12 chess champion Chahal represented the country in the World Youth Chess Championship and is also included in the website of the World Chess Federation. His ELO rating is 1956.
Indian cricketer Chahal held talks with Grandmaster Abhijit Gupta and International Master Rakesh Kulkarni before the tournament began. He said, ‘Chess taught me to be restrained. You may be bowling well in cricket, but you might not get wickets.
He said, ‘Similarly in a Test match, you may have bowled well during the day, but you have not got wickets, but you have to come back the next day to bowl so you need to be restrained. Chess has helped me a lot in this. I learned to be patient and to dismiss the batsman.
More interested in cricket than chess
When Chahal was asked about the decision to choose cricket over chess, he said that he was more interested in cricket. Chahal, who has played 52 ODIs and 42 T20 internationals for India, said, “I had to choose between chess and cricket. I spoke to my father and he said that you have your will.” I was more interested in cricket, so I chose it.
Had the IPL been going on, he would have been playing in Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), but he is spending time with the family at the time of lockdown. He said, ‘I don’t get much time to spend time with family. After many years I am at home. I am spending time with my family. This is a good and new experience. I sleep late at night and wake up late in the morning and spend time with family members in the evening.
Chahal’s ideal leg spinner Shane Warne
He said that his ideal is great leg-spinner Shane Warne and whenever possible, he watches chess and plays online games. Chahal described the wicket of South African batsman Faf du Plessis as one of his best wickets in the 2019 World Cup in England. He said, ‘This was my first World Cup. I dismissed Faf, who was a big wicket in the big match.
Chahal said about his bowling, ‘I also plan a lot while bowling and discuss with the wicketkeeper. Like I used to tell Mahi Bhai (MS Dhoni) how I will bowl. He also appealed to the people to stay at home to help in dealing with the corona virus epidemic.
Chahal said, ‘Please stay at home, this is your chance to become a hero. We have to be united in the fight against the corona virus. You can study, dance, learn cooking, learn new things in this time.
