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'Chawla is a long term prospect'
Harish Kotian in Nagpur |
February 28, 2006 17:08 IST
Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla [Images] is not just another spinner in the making. India captain Rahul Dravid [Images] reckons the 17-year-old from Aligarh is a long term prospect.
"He is very exciting and we are looking at him as a long term prospect," said Dravid, in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Chawla shot into prominence after claiming the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar [Images] in last year's Challenger Trophy. He was also a part of the Uttar Pradesh team that won their maiden Ranji Trophy title this season, and followed the good showing with a bagful of wickets in the Under-19 World Cup, where India finished runners-up, losing to Pakistan in the final.
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With the presence of Anil Kumble [Images] and Harbhajan Singh [Images] in the squad, Chawla may find it hard to break into the playing eleven for the first Test, but could well play in the latter part of the three-Test-series."He is a very exciting prospect. He has done very well. We just have to see what sort of combination we take into the game. We have got two world-class performers in Kumble and Harbhajan, who have won so many games for us in the past. It is not always easy to play three spinners and for a young leg-spinner to get a break," Dravid said.
However, Dravid believes that Chawla can learn a lot by spending time with Kumble and Harbhajan.
"We also have a couple of exciting young talents in [Suresh] Raina and Chawla. They are two young kids whom you will hear a lot about in the years to come."
Dravid also indicated that Yuvraj Singh [Images], who is ruled out of the first Test due to injury, could make the team for the second Test.
"There are some talks that he could be fit for the second Test, but that's again conjuncture; we have got to take it day-by-day," he said.
"The good news is that Yuvraj has developed better than we sort of initially feared. The physio has been really happy with him and that is why he called him here [Nagpur], so he can receive treatment for the next seven days. We are monitoring his situation day-by-day."