Veteran Indian cricket team spinner Yuzvendra Chahal shared that he saw almost all players, including Virat Kohli, cry after the defeat in the 2019 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand. However, India lost the rain-threatened match by 18 runs on the reserve day after failing to chase a 240-run target as well. Chahal also shared about the difference between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma when it comes to captaincy as well.
“I love how Rohit bhaiya carries himself on the ground. He’s a very good captain. With Virat bhaiya, it’s the energy he brings, the same energy every day. It will only go up and never down. Same energy. Every day,” Yuzvendra Chahal said on the Figuring Out With Raj Shamani podcast. “2019 World Cup, I saw him crying in the bathroom. And then I was the last batter, when I was crossing him, he had tears in his eyes. In 2019, I saw everyone crying in the bathroom.”
Yuzvendra Chahal also revealed that he regrets his performance in the all-important match as he ended up giving away 63 runs in 10 overs while taking only one wicket against New Zealand.
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“It was Mahi bhai’s last match. I could have done better. I still regret that. I could have pushed myself a bit more, bowled a bit better, and leaked 10-15 fewer runs. But sometimes you are in that flow, it happens so quickly that you don’t get time to think. I thought if I was calmer I could have done even better. I gave my best but it was the semi-final, a bigger stage and you have to give your 10-15% extra,” he again said.
Yuzvendra Chahal also opened up on his relationship with his ex-wife Dhanashree Verma as well. Chahal and Dhanashree were granted a divorce by the Mumbai family court in March as well, which also ended their five-year marriage.
“I had not seen her for a very long time, and then I saw her on a video call, where the lawyers spoke to us. That’s it, no message or anything after that. Before the divorce, we weren’t on talking terms for six to seven months. We would talk only if there was something very important; otherwise, nothing. It was like that for a while, but after the T20 World Cup, it started properly,” Yuzvendra Chahal concluded.
