Yuzvendra Chahal is one of the many Indian cricketers who will be making a comeback to the field after a long break, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Chahal, who plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, is one of the key bowlers of the franchise, having finished the 2019 season as their highest wicket-taker (18).
However, the leg-spinner admitted that he felt 'strange' when he went out to bowl for the first time in over four months as he resumed training.
"I felt a bit strange, ajeeb, when I went to bowl after such a long lay-off. I bowled some four to five overs, sometimes there was a feeling that I have forgotten my bowling run-up, but luckily things didn’t go too bad for me," Chahal told newspaper Indian Express.
When asked whether he would get the same accuracy as before, Chahal said that he is not thinking much about it at the moment and is solely focussing on continuing training.
"Obviously, I had a few doubts because I was bowling after a gap of four months. In the past, even when you are injured, at least you can go to the ground. This has been a rare instance when we came to the ground after a gap of four months. I was wondering how will my body react to bowling," said the leg-spinner.
"It’s on my mind because sometimes I think that when you are coming back after such a long layoff, the key is not put too much load on the body. There is that worry about getting injured."
Chahal was one of the players who was significantly active on social media platform TikTok during the lockdown period. The app was banned by the Indian government last month, following tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
"We didn’t discuss Covid at home and did activities like Tik Tok to divert our minds. It was just for time-pass, for enjoyment. I was free at home and had nothing to do. So, the family also got involved. Nothing else was happening; at least the world got to see my family," said Chahal.
He also announced his engagement during the lockdown. Chahal revealed that he met his to-be wife, Dhanashree Verma during a dance class.
"The roka was the only positive experience I had this lockdown (laughs). To kill time, I went to learn dance and there I met my to-be wife. She is a choreographer," he said.
