‘There Was A Feeling That I Have Forgotten My Bowling Run-Up’

Yuzvendra Chahal was busy at home during the lockdown, from gymming to TikTok to meeting someone special and getting engaged. Before he left for the United Arab Emirates to play in the IPL, Chahal spoke to The Indian Express about the last five months, his cricket, and how he became a TikTok star.

Excerpts:

How did you handle the lockdown period, apart from posting videos on TikTok?

It was too long a break, I didn’t want it this long (Bahut jyaada lamba ho gaya). When the lockdown happened, I ordered gym equipment at my home and for the first two months, I worked out. Then I took a 12-day break. During unlock, I went out to bowl but then the rains came. So, I had to stop cricket for a while. I have got to spend this much quality time with my family after 14-15 years as I have been on the road for a long time.

You got engaged, had the roka ceremony of course…

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.

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What will be the challenges going into the IPL?

We will get ample time to practise in the UAE before the IPL starts. We will get 15 days. It will be too early to say at the moment how things will go at the ground but the most important thing is cricket will be restarting. I didn’t think too much about IPL at home, I just wanted to go with the flow.

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