Shreyas Gopal, although he has had an impeccable record in domestic cricket, could not have a similar impact in the Indian Premier League. However, former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin heaped praise on Gopal and recalled how the leg-spinner was always very eager and wanted to ask questions consistently during the net sessions of the Chennai Super Kings.
“I want to talk about Shreyas Gopal’s performance. I have a name for him – Wickets Gopal. A spinner matures with age they say. I have watched him from close quarters last year. He has worked a lot on his bowling. He got AB and Virat Kohli out with googlies and shot to fame. Now he has started leg-break as well. I saw in the CSK nets. He works very consistently, is very eager and asks questions as well,” he said on his YouTube channel.
Gopal went to CSK last season; however, the side opted to play with Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmed as their primary wrist spinner.
“I am sure he was disappointed at the end of the season that he did not get any game time. I don’t know if they will play two wrist spinners and bank on Gopal this time around, but the way he bowled in the Maharaja Trophy, he picked wickets whenever needed. Obviously, he does not have the power in T20 cricket, but he is also a very utility cricketer, a very good fielder. I don’t know how much they will utilize him, but he is an example that spinners can mature with age. So good times for Gopal and CSK,” he said.
Gopal on MS Dhoni’s captaincy
Gopal lauded MS Dhoni’s ability to be humble despite all the success he had seen over the years.
“It’s very hard to be MS Dhoni; it’s extremely hard. People think that it’s very easy to be MS Dhoni. There is a lot of fame and people shout [cheer], but to be him, to be so grounded and to be so humble and to be so empathetic, caring is very hard. And you also understand that he’s also a human being. He loves doing very simple and basic things, and that is his greatness,” Gopal said on Sports Yaari.
