Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria made a big claim about out-of-favor India tweaker Yuzvendra Chahal, who was excluded from the Asia Cup squad by the national selectors last week.
According to Danish Kaneria, Yuzvendra Chahal doesn't deserve a place in the Indian cricket team as he has been quite inconsistent in the 50-over format.
“Yuzvendra Chahal doesn't deserve to be in Team India right now. He has been very inconsistent. Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, has picked up wickets regularly and can be effective in the middle overs. The selectors took the right call by going with Kuldeep over Chahal.”
Retired Pakistani cricketer's views are interesting, considering many other ex-players have termed Yuzvendra Chahal's omission disappointing.
The latest to criticize the move was South African legend AB de Villiers.
The former South Africa skipper, who has spent considerable time with the Indian bowler during his stint with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League, called the move “disappointing.”
“Chahal has been dropped, selectors making their intentions clear who they will be picking. It's a bit of disappointing drop for me, Yuzi is always very handy and it's great to have the leg-spinning option in your team. We know how skillful he is,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
Over the years, Yuzvendra Chahal has been a proven match-winner for India in white-ball cricket. Notably, the Haryana tweaker has collected 121 wickets in 72 ODIs for India, with the best figures of 6/42 against Australia in Melbourne in 2019.
Moreover, many experts believe wrist spinners are a commodity on the verge of extinction in international cricket, especially in limited-overs games. Over the world, most teams have deployed them to disrupt proceedings during the middle overs, primarily to take the opposition's wickets to keep their charge toward a big total in check.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been a vital cog in India's scheme of things in T20Is and 50-over games because of his ability to take wickets, something Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have often asserted is vital for the side after the initial powerplay.
AB de Villiers is not the first cricketer to pose questions in front of Indian selectors regarding his omission from the 17-men Indian cricket team selected for the Asia Cup.
Indian great Sourav Ganguly, Australia legend Matthew Hayden, cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan, the legendary Harbhajan Singh, and cricket pundit Aakash Chopra were not happy with Yuzvendra Chahal's exclusion from Team India's Asia Cup squad.
“There're some big omissions. Chahal in particular, that leg-spinner is such a superb player and (it) must be tough for the selectors because they've also got another one in Kuldeep (Yadav)…. he's a superb player. So, they've gone for that as an option,” Matthew Hayden said in an interaction with PTI.
“I would pick Chahal. I would always pick wrist-spinners,” Sourav Ganguly said in an interview with Hindustan Times.
Sharing his views on the matter on X, previously Twitter, Irfan Pathan posted: “Worry for selectors that Bumrah and Prasidh coming back from long lay off. That’s one of the two reasons you will see Indian team playing with an extra bowler who can bat. I would have Chahal in my squad. What do you guys think?”
Ex-India opener Aakash Chopra reflected on the development and predicted that Yuzvendra Chahal's chances of securing a place in the Rohit Sharma-led side for the World Cup in October were grim.
“You are going with just one wrist-spinner in this tournament. I feel you won't be able to create a place for Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal for the World Cup as well because if it wasn't created here, it won't be created there as well unless there is an injury,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“I feel we have a slight obsession that we need a batter at No. 8. We have Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), Axar (Patel) and Shardul Thakur, who can both bat and bowl. So you want all-rounders at No. 7 and No. 8 and because of that, you are unable to create a place for Yuzi Chahal,” he summed up.
Unlike Aakash Chopra, legendary India spinner Harbhajan Singh was optimistic about Yuzvendra Chahal's inclusion in the World Cup squad.
Harbhajan Singh even called Yuzvendra Chahal the best Indian bowler in shorter forms of cricket.
“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 Singh remarked.
“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 argued.
Meanwhile, captain Rohit Sharma explained the logic behind Yuzvendra Chahal's omission from the Asia Cup squad, emphasizing that Axar Patel's better batting ability went in his favor.
Unlike Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel has made significant contributions with the bat in the lower order in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and for the Indian cricket team in international matches.
“We also want someone who can bat at number eight and nine. Axar has had a great run with the bat in all formats and the IPL,” Rohit Sharma explained.
“We had a deep discussion about an off-spinner. And about a leg-spinner as well. Where the thing actually boils down is, the batting option at No. 8 and No. 9,” the India skipper said.
“We want somebody who can bat at that spot. Axar being Axar, he had a good run this year, and batted well in white-ball cricket, especially. He did not get a lot of opportunities in red-ball but he batted well in white-ball cricket, especially in the IPL. In the West Indies tour, he couldn't get a lot of opportunities because he bats at the backend. With him being there, it allows us the option of first having a left-hander whom we can use up the order and go in to play the spinners. He can do that for us,” Rohit Sharma elaborated.
“We thought about off-spinners as well, Ashwin and Washi as well but right now, Chahal has to miss out because we can only get 17 players there. The only way we could have done that (brought him in) is by taking one of the seamers out. We cannot really do that because seamers are going to play a big role in the next 2 months, considering the number of games in the next two months. Some of them are coming back after a long time. We wanted to get them in and see what they can do,” he pointed out.
“Having said that, 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 Sharma stressed.
India start their Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2. The two teams will face each other at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.
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