Yuzvendra Chahal has established himself as one of the finest leg-spinners in the white-ball format. In fact, he is India’s highest wicket-taker in the shortest format of the game with 96 wickets to his credit. He masters in tricking the best batter in the world and that’s the reason why some experts still cannot get over his absence from the Asia Cup 2023 squad.
The wrist spinner couldn’t make the cut when chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma met in Delhi earlier on Monday to finalise a 17-man team for the continental championship. The duo stated that Chahal was left out only to have an extra bowler who could bat. Kuldeep got the nod ahead of Chahal while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the two spin-bowling all-rounders.
While many believe that the squad picked by Agarkar & Co is a good one, former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels India have missed a trick by dropping Chahal. Analysing India’s Asia Cup squad in his YouTube video, Harbhajan said there’s no one better than the leg-spinner
“The one thing I feel is lacking in the team is the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal. A leg-spinner who can get the ball to turn away. If you talk about genuine spinner, I don’t think there’s any spinner in India better than Chahal in white-ball formats. Yes, his last few games weren’t good, but that doesn’t make him a bad bowler,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“I think his presence in the team was necessary. I hope the doors aren’t closed to him. It’s important to consider him for the World Cup because the tournament is in India. Chahal is a proven match-winner. I can understand his form isn’t good, so you may have rested him. But I think if he was with the team, his confidence would’ve stayed intact. Any player who comes back after being dropped, the pressure to perform is always there,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Indian team has started their preparation for the forthcoming event. Rohit Sharma & Co have gathered in Bengaluru for a pre-tournament camp at the National Cricket Academy. They will begin their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele.
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