‘He must be joking’: Rahul Tewatia’s first reaction after knowing of his maiden call-up from Yuzvendra Chahal
Tewatia hogged the limelight with his impeccable all-round show at the Indian Premier League 2020 which held in the UAE. The uncapped cricketer played a couple of crucial knocks to rescue his side Rajasthan Royals in crunch situations.
All-rounder Rahul Tewatia took the first step towards fulfilling his dream of representing India on Saturday. He found himself in India’s 19-man squad for the upcoming T20I series against England announced by BCCI.
Tewatia hogged the limelight with his impeccable all-round show at the Indian Premier League 2020 which held in the UAE. The uncapped cricketer played a couple of crucial knocks to rescue his side Rajasthan Royals in crunch situations. He certainly proved his mettle with both bat and ball so that he could make an entry in the Indian dressing room.
As Tewatia is set to don the Indian jersey, the all-rounder expressed how he felt when his Haryana teammates Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohit Sharma informed him about the selection. In a conversation with The Indian Express, Tewatia said that it was an ‘excepted’ piece of information to receive.
“When Yuzi bhai (Chahal) informed me, my first reaction was that he must be joking. I never thought I would get picked now. Mohit bhaiya (Sharma) also came to my room to inform me,” Tewatia told The Indian Express.
“Life has always thrown challenges. Haryana has three spinners who have already played for India; Amit Mishra, Chahal and Jayant Yadav. I always knew that if I get an opportunity, I must make it count. People had noticed me after the IPL. I thought if I continue to do well, I could get picked for the Indian team,” he added.
Ahead of joining Virat Kohli-led Indian side, Tewatia is hopeful that sharing the dressing room with a bunch of senior players will be a great experience.
“It will be great to share the dressing room with so many senior players and watch their work ethic from close quarters. I have heard that the experience of being with the Indian team is completely different. The team management and selectors have shown trust in me,” Tewatia said.
Tewatia ended IPL 2020 season with 255 runs and 10 wickets from 14 matches. His knock of 53 against Punjab Kings and 45 unbeaten against Sunrisers Hyderabad were his stand-out innings.