By Shahnawaz Vahora
October 17 2005

Teenage leg-spinner Piyush Chawla was a standout in the Champions Trophy final, signalling hope that India may have a player ready to take over when Anil Kumble calls it a day. Leg spin may be a dying art in India, but this 16-year old prodigy is a special talent.

Earlier, he had impressed the master spin trio of Bedi, Prasanna, and Chandrashekhar at the BCCI's spin academy. And when Dilip Vengsarkar (head of Junior Talent Wing in BCCI) was asked to give one name that which he would tip for greatness from the junior crop, the name mentioned was none other than Piyush Chawla.

Chawla first caught people's attention when he bamboozled the England U-19 team last year. The Indian colts whitewashed their English counterparts as Piyush took 13 wickets in 2 test matches, at an average a shade over 12. Even England's senior national team are poor players of spin, and Chawla's feat was not celebrated as it might have been. However, it was clear that an outstanding talent had been uncovered.

This was confirmed when his mettle was tested against the best of Australian U-19 talent in a series of 5 one-day matches. India won the series 4-1 and Piyush finished with 8 wickets at an average of 17.

Despite these heroics, many observers were surprised at his inclusion in the India B squad of the Challenger Trophy, the premiere Indian limited-over tournament, on account of his age. But once selected, there was no looking back for him.

In the first match he played against the India Seniors, captain Dinesh Mongia brought him on after the curtain had already fallen; India 'B' were set for defeat and had no chance of recovery. Chawla did his best, only to finish wicketless from 3 overs conceding 21 runs.

In the second match however, he got an opportunity at a more crucial juncture of the match. Domestic colossus VVS Laxman had just fallen after a century, Suresh Raina was going great guns nearing his own ton, and India A were all set for a score in excess of 280. In the space of 7 well-flighted overs, Piyush turned the match ever so slightly in India B's favor. Firstly snaring Raina with a viciously turning leggie, he followed up with a well-disguised flipper to send back the previous match's batting hero VRV Singh LBW. Sudden wickets and tricky bowling from the youngster had India A reeling at a late stage, falling well short of their desired target when they finished with 260. Their momentum was arrested, and Robin Uthappa well and truly swung it India B's way with a swashbuckling ton to get his team into the final.

In the final the India B batsman failed miserably, going down for a paltry 177. Chawla had shown promise in the previous match, and here his captain Mongia demonstrated high confidence in him to bring him on with a relatively new ball inside 10 overs, with fielding restrictions in full flow. Sachin Tendulkar and Vidyut Siva were rattling along at more than run a ball, with the great maestro producing masterful drives off the front foot. Chawla conceded 8 runs off his first over and Mongia's decision suddenly looked fraught with danger.

But he persevered, and it paid great dividends. In his second over Piyush came round the wicket to bowl to Tendulkar, and first up produced a stunning googly, deceiving the master and bowling him! Tell you what, I have seen a particular blonde bowler coming round the wicket, also in a final, and on that occasion Sachin had danced down the track to smash the ball out of the ground. Sachin was in similar mood, and had rocked back to smack what he thought was a normal leg break, only to be out-thought by a brilliant 16-year old.

Piyush was overjoyed and India B were suddenly back in contention despite the paltry target. Bowling to attacking fields set by Mongia, Chawla quickly snared Yuvraj Singh and applied lots of pressure to the stuttering senior batsmen. In his last over, Chawla again out-maneuvered a man who took spinner for meat and drink, Mahendra Singh Dhoni who was beaten in the air and stumped to give Piyush his third wicket. And with the last ball of his spell, the youngster bamboozled and nearly bowled another domestic stalwart JP Yadav with a fizzing leg break.

With all the selectors, coaches and a nation watching on, Piyush Chawla had done his bit.

The prodigy from Aligarh hasn't yet played first-class cricket, but going by his potential and performance it may not be too long before he plays Test cricket for India. However, caution must be exercised and the youngster exposed to the rigors of Indian domestic cricket and allowed to hone his skills before he is promoted to the highest level of the game. A nation looks forward to him.