Rahul Chahar Is Fast Replacing Yuzvendra Chahal As India's First-Choice Leg Spinner

There is something about leg spin bowling which is artistic and beautiful. The craft is tougher to develop and master and thus the best in the business are always sought after and ahead of their off-spin counterparts. A high quality leg break bowler is a rare breed and there haven’t been many in history. One such 21-year old is making a name for himself in India and according to current form is the best leggie in the country today.

Rahul Chahar was the leading wicket-taker amongst the spinners in IPL 2021 and returned with 11 wickets in 7 matches at a strike rate of 15.2. Not only did he take quality opposition wickets but also was very restrictive giving away just 7.21 runs per over. Leg break bowlers, due to the nature of their art and in the pursuit of wickets, tend to go for a lot of runs and in that light, this was a mighty impressive performance by Chahar.

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Chahar ran through the top order of KKR changing the course of the match in his four-over spell in the middle overs. From 72 for no loss in the 9th over, KKR were reduced to 122 for 4 after the 15th. The chase got derailed and they went down by 10 runs. Chahar then returned with 3-19 in 4 overs, again all middle-order wickets, in another defining performance against the Sunrisers.

Chahar has been a consistent performer for Mumbai Indians and played a leading role with the ball in their victorious campaigns in 2019 and 2020. He bagged 13 wickets at a stunning economy rate of 6.55 in 2019 and 15 wickets in the UAE last year. Overall, between 2019-2021, the leg spinner has picked 39 wickets in 35 matches for the Mumbai Indians at a strike rate of 19.69 and economy rate of 7.37 – these are outstanding figures for a bowler who at best is seen as a support act in a team of superstars with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Lasith Malinga and Krunal Pandya in their ranks during this time-frame.

What Chahar brings to the table are two things – a wicket-taking propensity and ability to run through opposition line-ups and the control to contain the batsmen in the middle overs. He has already played at the highest level and represented India in three T20I matches – one against the West Indies at Providence in 2019 and the other two in the recent home series against England.

Born in Bharaatpur, Rajasthan, Chahar rose to prominence in the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare Trophy – India’s premier 50-over domestic tournament. He was the leading wicket-taker for Rajasthan and the third-highest overall with 20 wickets in 9 matches at a strike rate of 24.5 and economy rate of 4.28 in the competition.

Chahar has been in fine form for his state in the country’s premier 20-over competition too – the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He picked 11 wickets in 8 matches at an economy rate of 7.3 in 2019-20 and was the highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan in 2021 with 11 wickets in 5 matches at a strike rate of 10.9 and economy rate of 6.55. As on display in the IPL, his quintessential qualities of picking wickets and containing the opposition batsmen stood out.

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Chahar is fast emerging as India’s number one choice leg spin option in limited overs’ cricket – a position occupied by Yuzvendra Chahal over the last few years. Chahal had a poor IPL 2021 for the Challengers and has seen a decline in his numbers for India in T20 cricket. Since 2019, he has just picked 18 wickets in 21 T20Is at a strike rate of 27.3 and economy rate of 9.14 – his inability to pick wickets and control the flow of runs in the middle overs has been a big cause of worry for India.

The other wrist spinner who paired with Chahal and won India many a match between 2017 and 2019, has witnessed a dramatic dip in form thereafter. Kuldeep Yadav has played just 23 matches across the three formats and picked 24 wickets at an average of 48.41 and strike rate of 49.5 since April 2019. Yadav did not get a single game for KKR in IPL 2021 after terrible returns in the previous two editions.

With the form of the two wrist spinners on the wane, Chahar emerges as the leading candidate at least in the limited over XI for India and might find a spot ahead of both Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav on the tour to Sri Lanka.

Chahar has an excellent record in List A and T20 cricket. He has picked 64 wickets in 39 List A matches at a strike rate of 30.7 and economy rate of 5.12 and 78 wickets in 63 T20I innings at a strike rate of 17.7 and economy rate of 7.39.

The young leg break bowler also has an impeccable record in first-class cricket with 69 wickets in 17 matches at a strike rate of 47.5 and has a strong chance to soon break into the Test set-up for India. Currently, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar have seen selected as the spin quartet for England – that is a couple of off spin bowlers and two other slow left arm orthodox spinners.

Interestingly, Amit Mishra was the last leg spinner to play in whites for India – in 2016. The country needs a quality right-arm wrist spinner and Rahul Chahar is India’s best bet to fill that void.

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