Did You Know How Yuzvendra Chahal Got the Name Tilli? Records, and Facts About the Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUZVENDRA CHAHAL: Star India spinner Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates his 33rd birthday today. Chahal has been the spearhead of India’s spin bowling attack in white-ball cricket for some time now. He is also regarded as one of the finest leg-spinners in limited-overs cricket, globally. Chahal is only the second bowler in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history to have picked 20 wickets or more in four different seasons.

Apart from his sensational prowess on the field, Chahal enjoys an incredible fan-following on social media. Chahal, thanks to his witty posts and hilarious antics off the field, is one of the most-followed cricketers in the Indian cricket team.

How Yuzvendra Chahal Got The Name Tilli?

Chahal acquired the nickname ‘Tilli’ while playing under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. Tilli refers to a Hindi word that means a single matchstick which is usually quite thin and weak. Chahal has often been subject to mockery due to his scrawny shape. But he did not hesitate to tweet about his funny nickname as he revealed how the senior cricketers often addressed him as. “Miss being called Tilli from behind the stumps by the legend,” sharing a picture of him along with Dhoni, the leg-spinner had tweeted in May 2020.

As Yuzvendra Chahal celebrates his 33rd birthday today, it is time to take a look at some of his records, trivia and facts.

Records, Trivia and Facts About Chahal

1. With 187 scalps to his name, Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL. He has till now featured in 145 IPL matches.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal became India’s first bowler to register a five-wicket haul during a T20I match against England in 2017. His sensational figures of 6/25 in that game helped him in becoming just the second bowler, after Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis, to record a six-wicket haul during a T20I match.
3. Chahal has so far played a total of 72 ODI games. He has taken 121 scalps in ODIs till now. In his 75 T20I games for India, Chahal has 91 scalps to his name in the shortest format of the game.
4. Yuzvendra Chahal also became the first concussion substitute to win a Player of the Match award in an international game. In a T20I match against Australia, Chahal replaced Ravindra Jadeja after he got injured in the first innings and delivered a star performance to secure the win.
5. Yuzvendra Chahal has also represented India in an international chess tournament. Chahal went to Greece to participate in the 2003 World Youth Championships.