India legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal has said that we will "see a more confident Yuji" during India's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka starting in Colombo on 13 July. Chahal along with Kuldeep Yadav was a key member of India's ODI team till the 2019 World Cup. Since that tournament, however, neither has found a surefire place. This was also reflected in the BCCI's annual contract list for the year, with both Chahal and Yadav being demoted from Grade B and A to Grade C respectively.
Since the end of the 2019 World Cup, Chahal has averaged 37.12 in ODIs and walked away with an economy rate of 6.45. Those numbers should qualify with the fact that he has played in only five matches during that period - which coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic - but India's three-match ODI series at home against England in March His performance in the squad was a reminder of his dwindling importance. But Chahal said that the team management has reposed faith in him.
"My performance - I don't think it was [in form] or anything else," Chahal said ahead of the Sri Lanka ODI series. "You can't perform in every match. I will try my level best. This series is very important for me.
"I keep chatting with the bowling coach. He [management] has given us confidence, and that's why I am here. If it wasn't for this, nobody in the team [would be here]. My main focus moment is that." The series is - there has been less cricket than last year, but it is not in our hands. Whatever series happens, we want to perform. After this series, my focus will be on IPL, and only then [t 20] World Cup. Right now, I am concentrating on this tour."
Chahal's last ODI match was against Australia in November 2020. Since then, he has played 19 T20Is in domestic and international cricket, and has played only two List A matches for Haryana. But the spinner said he was reminded by stand-in coach Rahul Dravid that he will be the senior spinner on the tour and the coach wanted him to be a guiding influence on the young players.
"I am playing an ODI series after such a long time, but we have already played two practice matches here. [We are practicing] so that we get used to the heat," he said. "It will be completely different than 20 overs where we are on the field for three and a half hours."
A major difference between T20Is and ODIs is the fielding restrictions - only four fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle from the 11th to the 40th over of ODIs. Chahal said these restrictions can be tough for a spin bowler, but they are not new.
"I've played more than 50 matches for five years, so I'm used to it all," he said. "It's not an excuse or anything. Now, when I bowl, I just focus on getting the batsmen out. That's it.
"I have some variations and am just focusing on that, not using other deliveries. You will see Yuzi more confident in this series. I am just working on my angles and in general more Trying to bowl."