Harbhajan Singh has voiced concerns regarding the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal from India’s Asia Cup 2023 lineup. He stressed the value of having the leg-spinner in the team, pointing out his track record as a trustworthy game-changer.
Yuzvendra Chahal’s exclusion from the 17-member list for the Asia Cup 2023 has raised questions, especially because Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel gained slots. It’s not the first time Chahal has faced a situation like this – he was previously kept out of the 2021 T20 World Cup and didn’t see any action in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
While he did participate in the white-ball segment of the West Indies series, Chahal found himself playing second fiddle to Kuldeep Yadav in all three ODIs. He was able to make appearances in all five T20Is, but his performance was relatively dismal, taking only five wickets with an average of 32.60 and an economy rate of 9.05.
In light of this, Harbhajan Singh, giving his opinion, dubbed Chahal as the premier white-ball spinner in India. He expressed his unhappiness at Chahal’s absence from the squad and underlined his hope that the 33-year-old bowler be selected for the forthcoming 2023 World Cup, scheduled to kick off on October 5 in India.
“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 spinners, 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 official 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 further added.
Chahal’s ODI journey includes 72 matches, where he has impressively captured 121 wickets at an average of 27.13. His economy rate of 5.26 further underscores his expertise. Excitingly, Captain Rohit Sharma has underlined that Chahal remains a strong candidate for a position in India’s 2023 World Cup squad.
