Piyush Chawla

[Turbinator]

No wait let him first answer my question, cuz' he seems to have skipped it .

 

[Richard]

So Richard, I've always wanted to know, if you don't mind me asking, if you're not studying... what are you doing?

What do you think now...?

 

[DCC_legend]

Wasn't too sure about him in his first few games, but as i watched him through this series, i've realised how good he is.

Probably not the 'complete' legspinner yet, but i'm sure he'll develop as he gets more experienced in his field.

IMO he's going to be/is already better than Adil Rashid.

 

[Richard]

No wait let him first answer my question, cuz' he seems to have skipped it .

Don't speak too soon.

 

[Richard]

Care to explain?

Doosra say anything to you, no?

 

[Turbinator]

What do you think now...?

You crossed the 7 seas to play a song for Sam and win her heart, but you got whipped by her dad for doing so, so you decided to draw a picture of her much like the one the guy in Titanic drew for the girl in Titanic, and then you guys partied all night???

 

[Richard]

That really was quite some chain assimilation.

Impressive beyond anything I'd ever have expected of you TBH.

 

[viktor]

You crossed the 7 seas to play a song for Sam and win her heart, but you got whipped by her dad for doing so, so you decided to draw a picture of her much like the one the guy in Titanic drew for the girl in Titanic, and then you guys partied all night???

Awesome!!

 

[Prince EWS]

Will be astonished if Chawla doesn't turn-out better than Rashid TBH, based on nothing but probability derived from historical traits. English wristspinners, even those with promise (there have actually been 1 or 2 believe it or not) have tended to fail to do anything much, India have had several top-notch spinners complete the journey.

I really hate it when you judge bowlers based simply on what bowlers of their type from their country in previous years have done. It really follows no logic other than patterns that could easily be broken. Judge Chawla as Chawla and Rashid and Rashid - not as a continuation of the destinies lest behind by Kumble and Salisbury.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Doosra say anything to you, no?

I'd say that Powar has a lot more variation than Harbhajan (sp).

 

[vic_orthdox]

Looks a pretty clever bowler for an 18 year old, although with his very side on action and the seam position often not ideal on his legbreaks he dosent look capable of prodigious turn. Not short on confidence either.

I've always had a bit of a theory that bowlers like him (ie slower, loopier wrist spinners) are less likely to succeed bowling in India than quicker, skiddier ones.
Due to the lack of pace in the pitches the slower spinners dont tend to get the same venom and bite from the pitch as they would in places like England or Australia, the ball tends to sit up and asked to be hit alot more. Whereas tweakers who are quicker through the air compensate for the lack of pace in the pitches, and because the pitches are so dry and dusty they still manage deviation which they would not get in alot of other conditions (ie Australia, South Africa, etc).
Look at the records of slower spinners in India - Warne, Murali, Mushtaq Ahmed, Vettori - all have very unflattering numbers.
Whereas quicker spinners like Kumble, Harbhajan, Boje, Afridi all seem to have done very well in India.

Chawla's such a short guy though, that bowling in a flatter manner wouldn't actually be all that difficult to play because he's not going to get much bounce, and has a very small margin for error.

He's deceptively quick through the air though. He's very tough to get down to the wicket too. And he does bowl quite a bit with a scrambled seam, which can make it harder to pick which way he's turning the ball.

EDIT: I wouldn't describe Mushtaq as being particularly slow through the air, either. Although I do agree that they are a good comparison.

 

[SJS]

I'd say that Powar has a lot more variation than Harbhajan (sp).

Absolutely. Not having the doosra doesnt mean he does not have variation.

You have to play a top class off spinner with a loop like that to find out how easy it is to make a fool of yourself. Its one of the most 'devious' deliveries in the game. Add to that a beautiful away floater and you are made to look a sucker.

Powar bowls a beautiful 'higher' flighted delivery too. Its something one hadn't seen before. It still lands perfectly and is very useful particularly with the tail. One of his away floaters moved like a leg break.

I enjoy the knowing look on his face. It reminds me a lot of Prasanna who knew when the batsmen were playing him by guesswork - which was most of the time. He is clearly in love with his art and this type of attitude in spinners makes for compulsive viewing.

Bedi and Prasanna come to mind.

 

[Perm]

I've seen quite a bit of Piyush Chawla on this tour and have been very impressed, particularly with the way he has fooled Kevin Pietersen a couple of times, who is a very good player of spin bowling. It seems as though this young leg-spinner has good accuracy, nice variation and plenty of confidence. Without wanting to build him up too much, I'd say he is destined to be the best spinner India have had since Kumble. As Richard said earlier, I think it's a little bit rushed for him to be playing ODI cricket at this young age (even more so when he played his debut and only Test), and I hope his form doesn't fall away on the international scene only for him to be discarded for ages.

 

[Manee]

I rate Piyush Chawla a lot. I think the One Day game is his weaker suit and he is still excellent at it. His line and length is very good, he rarely drags one down and that seems to be the norm for a lot of leg spinners. He just needs to use his googly more sparingly, although he has two, batsman will soon figure out both if he uses them every ball.

He will never get massive turn from his leg break due to his high arm action, I think that possibly concentrating on over spin (like Kumble) rather than side spin as the stock delivery would be a good move for him. That being said, he does get the odd leg spinner to really rip. His batting is more than handy too for a number 8/9 batsman, he seemed to score the odd fifty for the U19s and his domestic team.

I think he will really shine in the test game, if you were following it, he destroyed both Zimbabwe and Kenya in the four day games for India A. In one game against Zimbabwe, he took 10 for 44!

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

He's deceptively quick through the air though. He's very tough to get down to the wicket too. And he does bowl quite a bit with a scrambled seam, which can make it harder to pick which way he's turning the ball.

EDIT: I wouldn't describe Mushtaq as being particularly slow through the air, either. Although I do agree that they are a good comparison.

That's exactly why I've been so impressed with him. When Warne was bowling, the ball seemed to take a long time to reach the batsman, almost drawing him into the shot. Chawla gets the ball up and down very quickly and as yet very few players have been able to get down the wicket to him. The only real aggression I've seen against him, apart from when he bowls poor deliveries, has been Mascarenhas/Collingwood lapping him over mid-wicket.

With regards the googly, I'm not sure he uses it enough (in ODI cricket anyway, he'd have to use it more sparingly than he does now in Test cricket). He tends to have two main googlies: the tossed up one that has done for Collingwood and Pietersen, and the defensively bowled flatter delivery from wide of the crease that usually results in a play-and-miss. I didn't see too much of the latter yesterday, but to be fair to the young lad the ball looked quite damp - some deliveries were clearly overflighted and overpitched as soon as they left the hand.

 

[Nishant]

You crossed the 7 seas to play a song for Sam and win her heart, but you got whipped by her dad for doing so, so you decided to draw a picture of her much like the one the guy in Titanic drew for the girl in Titanic, and then you guys partied all night???

thats just gun TBH!

 

[Nishant]

i think Chawla is a developing player and can be quite good for india if he carries on getting chances. I say this because out of the 2 spinners india use in their side ATM, if Harbhajan was ever to get into any sort of form, Chawla would be the first to get dropped.
He is young and quite good IMO and i am actually looking forward to him playing against the aussies and pakistan, the 2 teams coming up for india!

 

[Nishant]

i think Chawla is a developing player and can be quite good for india if he carries on getting chances. I say this because out of the 2 spinners india use in their side ATM, if Harbhajan was ever to get into any sort of form, Chawla would be the first to get dropped.
He is young and quite good IMO and i am actually looking forward to him playing against the aussies and pakistan, the 2 teams coming up for india!

 

[Craig]

You crossed the 7 seas to play a song for Sam and win her heart, but you got whipped by her dad for doing so, so you decided to draw a picture of her much like the one the guy in Titanic drew for the girl in Titanic, and then you guys partied all night???

Hahaha

BTW whatever happened to Amit Mishra?

 

[gettingbetter]

Assuming Kumble retires after he reaches 600 wickets, do you think Chawla should get his position? Or would you like to see him get a spot?