By India Today Sports Desk: India off-spinner R Ashwin said he has rarely seen someone with a sense of humour as good as Piyush Chawla, narrating a funny conversation with the Mumbai Indians star, who has found a new lease of life in IPL 2023. Ashwin recalled a chat with Chawla, saying the leg-spinner has given a stern warning to his 7-year-old son, who is dreaming of becoming a cricketer.
Piyush Chawla did not feature in IPL 2022 as he found no takers at the auction. The 34-year-old, however, was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 50 lakh in the mini-auction. Much to the surprise of quite a few, Piyush Chawla has had a sensational return to the IPL, picking up 17 wickets in just 10 matches.
Chawla has been leading a Mumbai Indians bowling attack that has been hamstrung by injuries. The veteran leg-spinner, who is one of the leading wicket-takers in the IPL, has bowled in the powerplay and outside it with precision, even as the 5-time champions have felt the absence of Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah.
Chawla has outfoxed opposition batters with the guile and skill that he was renowned for during his heyday in the IPL.
Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel, said Chawla joked that he has taken a lot of lessons from his commentary stint.
“Nobody can match Piyush Chawwla’s humour sense. Before the match, we were practice and I told him ‘Dude, you were doing commentary and all of a sudden, you are back bowling and picking wickets for fun this season?’.
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“He said ‘They asked me to come and bowl, so I joined the team. When you do commentary, your bowling gets better,” Ashwin said.
The off-spinner, who has played with the leg-spinner for India in the past, also revealed that Piyush Chawla has strictly told his son that he would not encourage him to follow his footsteps and become a father.
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In a funny conversation, Chawla had told him that he has been bowling to his son everyday, making sure he becomes a good batter and bags a lucrative IPL deal in the future.
Notably, Chawla has been travelling around the country with his family in IPL and the Mumbai Indians had shared a footage of Ishan Kishan bowling to the leg-spinner’s son in their hotel room.
“He said ‘my son is also watching each and every game and torturing me like anthing’. I asked him does he like cricket? He told me he loves the sport and gets everyone in the family to sit in front of the TV and watch matches.
“Piyush told me that he has told his son to not even dream of becoming a bowler. His son is 7 years old and if he even touches the ball, he hits him in his hand. He forces the ball off his hand and gives the bat.
“He said he has already told Mumbai Indians that a good batter is developing and keep aside Rs 20 crore.
“I asked him about training.
“He said ‘I am bowling to him from the morning. If I bowl in the IPL, they are paying me only Rs 50 lakh. If he bats well, in 10 years’ time, they will pay him Rs 20 crore,” Ashwin recalled.
Both Ashwin and Chawla have been having a good IPL 2023 season for their respective franchises in a season where old guards have found success.
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