Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed his surprise and displeasure at the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from India’s 17-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Chahal was not picked by the selectors, who opted for Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as the spin options.
Harbhajan, who has played 103 Tests and 236 ODIs for India, said that Chahal is the best spinner in India in white-ball formats and his presence in the team was necessary. He also hoped that the doors are not closed for Chahal, who is a proven match-winner, especially with the World Cup 2023 being hosted in India.
“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,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
Bhajji praised Chahal and said that there is no spinner better than the leggie in white-ball formats.
“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 added.
Notably, Chahal has been a key member of India’s limited-overs setup since his debut in 2016. However, he has been struggling for form and consistency in recent times.
However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has insisted that the door is not closed for the leg-spinner and the latter can still make it in World Cup 2023 squad.
“No door is not closed for anyone at this point in time. Anyone can come in at any time. Chahal has played a lot of white-ball cricket, if we feel like we need him for the World Cup, we can try and see how we can squeeze him. So is the case with Ashwin and Washi. The option is open to everyone,” Rohit said in Asia Cup 2023 squad announcement press conference.
India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against Pakistan on September 2 at Pallekelle Cricket Ground in Kandy.
India’s Asia Cup 2023 Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
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