Chahal played the 2015 season with a fractured finger

Cricket is a religion in India. In a country which is more than a billion strong in population, and has millions who aspire to make cricket their living, life can be extremely tough. Beating your competition might not only be about working hard, and trying to be the best version of oneself, but also could come down to luck. In such a competitive environment, players can do unimaginable things to get a break.

Such was the case with team India and RCB spin spearhead, Yuzvendra Chahal. The leggie who spent most of his time on the bench with the Mumbai Indians was snapped up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2014 edition of the IPL. In his first season, Chahal impressed with 12 wickets from 14 games. In his second year with the Bangalore franchise, Chahal has now revealed that he had sustained a fractured finger, but decided to play through the pain barrier. 

“I picked 23 wickets in the 2015 season,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I had fractured my finger in the fifth match that season but didn’t tell anyone. I spoke to my physio who asked if I could continue playing. Though I refused to get an X-ray, as that would have kept me out of the team, I asked the physio to give a one-match break and so I didn’t play in the next match, against Delhi [Daredevils].” 

Chahal, however, had fortune on his brave side, as he the next game was washed out that gave him an opportunity to rest his finger for a while more. “We were then scheduled to play against Rajasthan [Royals] in Bangalore, but it got washed out so I got a week’s rest. But I continued taking two-three painkillers every match for the fractured finger and ultimately finished as the third-highest wicket-taker that season,” the Haryana tweaker said.

Even though the reason behind Chahal’s bravery at the time was desperation, the decision to play through the pain taught him a valuable life lesson. “So now I know that if I have another fracture, I can take lessons from 2015. That episode made me mentally strong, because I had got a chance after long, and didn’t want to give that away to anyone else. I already had 10 wickets in the first five matches and my season was going well, so I didn’t want to let my team down too. I felt that I could take the pain so I played the remaining 8-10 matches with a fractured finger.”

[Wisden inputs]