Chawla closes UP chapter, moves to Gujarat

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Leg spinner Piyush Chawla became the latest to move out of his state as he decided to part ways with Uttar Pradesh and play for Gujarat from the next domestic season.

Chawla, who was sidelined by India’s new spin sensation Kuldeep Yadav for the major part of last season, playing only 2 matches for UP came in contact with Gujarat captain Pathiv Patel and expressed his desires of shifting bases to the Western India state.

“I had a word with Parthiv (Gujarat captain) and expressed my intention to play for Gujarat,” Chawla was quoted as saying by the Indian Express. 

The 28-year-old leggie, who still harbors hopes of a national comeback, refused to cite the lack of opportunities as the reason for his decision to move out of UP, from which he has played 12 years of first class cricket.

“There is no specific reason of me leaving UP. I have explained my point of view to the UPCA and they got my point,” said Chawla.

This definitely comes as big blow to UP Cricket Association, which is yet to recover from RP Singh’s transfer after bitter fallout with the board 2-years ago. Chawla will join RP to strengthen the Gujarat side in their quest to defend the Ranji crown.

The leg spinner, who burst on to the scene with his deceptive wrong ones, has played 117 first class matches with close to a 100 of those for UP, picking up 386 wickets with an impressive average of 33.89.

Chawla’s last India appearance was 5 years ago in a T20 match but the leg spinner believes his Gujarat move will only add to his experience.

“As a player it’s quite exciting to join a team which has won 3 trophies in the last 3 years. It’s not that I was not happy in UP but something was missing. I want to add value to the team. When you go as a professional you have that added responsibility on your shoulders. The pressure is different, which often enhances your performance,” he added.

Chawla’s move doesn’t come as a surprise as this year quite a few out of favour Indian cricketers like Robin Uthappa have decided to move away from their states for better opportunities and possibly an India comeback.

Robin moved out from Karnataka to play for Saurashtra.