Chawla: I don’t know what went wrong…

India

India all-rounder Piyush Chawla has always managed to be on the fringe of the team, but has fallen by the wayside in recent years, and he says he can’t understand why that is.

The spinner last played for India in December 2012, and has only three Tests caps, even though he made his debut in 2006. While he has done decently with Kolkata in the IPl and the like, he’s not caught the eye of India’s selectors again.

A baffled Chawla told Cricinfo: “Although I did well in whatever opportunities I got, I don’t know what went wrong.

“I did well in the World Cup, but was dropped after that. Then picked four wickets on a real flat deck in a Test against England, and was dropped thereafter. I don’t know what went wrong.”

When asked why he hadn’t asked the selectors for their reasons, he said: “That’s not the way I am. All I know is that I have to keep on doing well.

“If I continue doing it, the rewards will follow. That is what I am going to do now and hope things change in the coming season.”

Chawla’s domestic records show that he does better with the bat than the ball, but he insists that is the case for most players, as the decks favour pace bowling over spin.

He said: “First of all, it’s only good that I am contributing both with the bat and the ball. As for the lack of wickets, if you look at the top wicket-takers’ charts, you will see that spinners hardly find a mention in it.

“That’s because the Ranji Trophy games are played either on green tops or real flat decks. Very rarely do we see spinning tracks in domestic cricket.

“In UP, with the battery of pace bowlers we have, we prefer to play on green tops, so to chip in with two or three wickets is good for a spinner.

“So while analysing spinners’ performances, one should also consider the number of overs he has bowled and whether he has been able to contain the batsmen.”

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