Josh Hazlewood and Yuzvendra Chahal, two bowlers who are not considered by their respective countries for T20s are showcasing their credentials in the ongoing IPL. Hazlewood is proving that the good old line and length, the staple test diet, is good enough for T20 whereas Chahal is proving that he still has the skills that made him an integral part of the Indian team not so long ago. Will they be able to make a comeback to their respective teams? Is IPL the right platform to judge their performances?
Hazlewood is straight from the Glenn McGrath school of bowling. Line and length, on the offstump and hit the top of off. He is relentless in what he does and thereby makes the life of the batsman quite difficult. He has had tremendous success at the test level and has been quite economical too. However, for some reason, the Australian selectors never considered him for T20 cricket. Nevertheless, last year, CSK enjoyed the benefits of having Hazlewood at their opening bowler and now, RCB is reaping the rewards.
Hazlewood changed the game with his spell
Against Lucknow Super Giants, on a pitch where Faf almost scored a century, Hazlewood got one delivery to raise just enough to take the edge of the bat of de Kock. Defending 180-odd, he got RCB off to the best possible start. Quinton is such an aggressive batsman that he could have easily taken the game away from RCB but Hazlewood’s piece of brilliance put paid to that hope. Manish Pandey was easily taken care of. Later in the innings, he came back to pick up 2 more wickets. Hazlewood has taken a special liking to the DY Patil pitch.
“I am really enjoying in particular at the start (powerplay) and probably in particular this ground,” he said. “Wankhede has some bounce but here at DY it is unreal with the new ball. You can obviously go for runs if you get it wrong, but if you get it right you can create wicket opportunities in the first few overs and get the other team on the backfoot.”
Hazlewood with Harshal and another welcome addition in Wanindu, has formed a potent bowling attack for RCB. CSK’s loss has become RCB’s gain.
Chahal seems to relax in the new franchise
Chahal, the forgotten Indian spinner, has rejuvenated himself but this time in the colours of Rajasthan Royals. He is away from the intensity of the former RCB captain. Perhaps, that has helped him to relax. Against KKR, RR were not the favourites to win when Chahal began the 17th over. However, by the end of the over, they were down to around 10% winning chance.
Brendan McCullum, the KKR coach said, Credit to Chahal, he is just an absolute brilliant bowler. [He is] one of those guys, pressure situations don’t bother him. We talked extensively in the meetings about how he was such a threat, and that we didn’t want to give him wickets during key moments of games.
Both the Iyers, Venkatesh and Shreyas, charged Chahal and were beaten by the flight. Once those two are gone, Chahal ran through KKR lineup with a hattrick. Chahal is now the leading wicket-taker in the IPL 2022. I can remember how he struggled with playing for RCB. If reports are to be believed, Chahal himself asked the RCB management not to retain him so that he can try his chances in the open market. Whether he was able to command the price that he expected in the auction will never be known but he seems to be back to his own self in the new franchise.
Does Chahal have a chance to return to the Indian team?
The bigger question is whether this performance of Chahal will be enough for him to be propelled into the Indian team? The one thing that will go against selecting Chahal is his inability with the bat. Agreed that bowlers must not be expected to score runs but the game has changed. Now, the minimum bowlers are expected to do is to be able to stay on the wicket. Chahal is a proper tailender.
Moreover, the T20 World Cup will be held in Australia. The pitches are not expected to turn. Leg spinners will enjoy the bigger Australian grounds and they will be confident to flight the ball and purchase wickets. However, Jadeja, Chahar and perhaps Kuldeep Yadav are ahead in the pecking order. Only 2 spinners will be taken to Australia with one being Jadeja. Chahal faces an uphill task to be in the squad. Another important factor in Chahal’s rejection is his fielding. He will more or less must be hidden in the field.
Conclusion to Josh Hazlewood and Yuzvendra Chahal
I am not really sure whether either Chahal or Hazlewood will become a permanent fixture of their respective T20 sides but few more performances like these will definitely propel them on in their claim. The only point of worry is that the standard of cricket at the IPL is definitely not on par with international cricket. There lie their chances.
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