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How Yuvraj Singh Made Ex-Punjab Star To Meet Shane Warne For Bowling Improvement In IPL

Piyush Chawla on Shane Warne [X.com]Piyush Chawla on Shane Warne [X.com]

Shane Warne, a trailblazing bowler of his era, left an indelible mark on the history of cricket. His legacy lives on through the invaluable guidance he imparted to future generations despite his premature departure from the game.

During a podcast, India veteran spinner Piyush Chawla shared a rare and insightful experience of his meeting with the legendary bowler, Shane Warne. He revealed the invaluable lessons he learned from Warne during their time together in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

At the tender age of 18, Piyush Chawla embarked on his maiden season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as a player for the Punjab Kings. This was a season where the Indian cricket legend, Yuvraj Singh, was at the helm of the team. Chawla revealed his experince playing in IPL.

 He made me meet the legendary Shane Warne: Chawla

"Our first match was against CSK and they scored some 230-odd runs. I bowled one over and got smashed for 20 runs. Just got one over. I thought 'It's ok. What's done is done'. We reached Jaipur for the second match against Rajasthan Royals. We batted first and I scored some 24 runs off 11-12 balls. When I came to bowl, I conceded 30 in 2 overs. I went to my room and thought 'This T20 cricket is not my cup of tea'. I was 18 at that time and really worried," Chawla said.

Chawla further revealed that it was the Indian legend Yuvraj Singh who facilitated the meeting with the Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne. 

"Yuvraj came up and he made me meet the legendary Shane Warne. I went to his room and started speaking. English I wasn't able to speak much and the one with accent, couldn't understand much. But I understood whatever little I could. After 40 minutes, I left his room and I'm not kidding but I felt there is no bowler better than me. He said so many things to me and made me understand the little things about cricket," he further added.

Piyush Chawla, in his illustrious 16-year IPL career, has significantly impacted his teams, where he scalped 192 wickets in 192 matches with an economy of 7.96.