Chess player. Tax collector. YouTube star. Social media sensation. Prankster. Joker. Bowling genius. All these words describe the same person. Yuzvendra Chahal has become one of India’s most popular cricketers thanks to a unique combination of on-field brilliance and off-field mischief. Yet behind the memes and Chahal TV bits lie a sharp brain, one that Yuzi honed through a successful childhood chess career and that’s still on display whenever he traps a batsman through the guile and cunning of his spin bowling.

Discover the story of the boy from the small town of Jind in Haryana who has gone on to become a global superstar in the world of cricket and social media, written by Harish Alagappa, hosted by #thatcricketguy Jatin Sapru, learn about the time when Yuzi had to listen to the noise within him and take a difficult call between continuing his career as an international chess champion or breaking into the already highly-competitive world of Indian cricket. This Sochcast episode will explore how this Noisemaker is changing the way Indian fans look at and interact with their cricketers.