India's leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal may already be in the mix in the white-ball scheme of things but the Rajasthan Royals star has still not given up his dream of playing Test cricket for India. Despite being a regular member of the white-ball Indian side since 2016 and having played 72 ODI matches and 75 T20Is having scalped 121 and 91 wickets respectively, Chahal reckons it's still not late enough for him to play the game's longest format of the game at the highest level.
Chahal has been an incredible achiever in the game's limited-overs formats and his stats speak for him. Apart from his wickets column in the white-ball fixtures for Team India, during IPL 2023 he also surpassed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) legend Dwayne Bravo's wickets tally to emerge as the leading wicket-taker in the history of the T20 tournament.
The fact that a significant number of those wickets came when he was playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) whose home venue the M Chinnaswamy Stadium isn't one which please a lot of spin bowlers says a lot about his quality as a bowler. However, he still hasn't been handed over a Test debut by the Indian team management.
"Every cricketer has a dream of representing his/her team on the international platform. And they reach the pinnacle when they wear whites and play red-ball cricket. I have a similar dream too. I have achieved a lot in white-ball cricket, but red-ball is still on my checklist. I still have the dream of getting the tag of ‘Test cricketer’ next to my name. I try to give my best in domestic and Ranji games so as to fulfill this dream of mine, and I hope to get the opportunity of representing the Indian Test team soon," said Chahal in an interview to CricTracker.
Despite his good T20 record, he is yet to play a match in the T20 World Cup. However, he says that he does not think a lot about that.
"That’s fine, you know. Some things are not in your hands, so I don’t ponder much upon that. My focus is on giving my best and performing well till the time I’m playing the game. Be it any match, my aim is to give my 100%. Selection is something that is not in our hands. Whether you’re playing or not, once you wear the blue jersey and be a part of the squad, it always gives you a sense of confidence. At least you’re there, and have to be ready for whatever is coming next," he added.