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The former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh was puzzled about how Yuzvendra Chahal has been ignored by the Indian T20I squad during an interview on the sidelines of ILT20 in Dubai. When asked about his top three spin bowling picks for India at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, the 43-year-old was happy to name Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of everyone else.
During the final T20I series before the T20 World Cup 2024, India employed the likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, and Kuldeep Yadav in the spin bowling department against Afghanistan in the three matches. Axar Patel was the pick of the bunch, picking up crucial wickets at the low economy to play a massive role for the Indian team securing a 3-0 clean sweep while being rested from the third T20I which went to the double super over stage.
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As far as Yuzvendra Chahal is concerned, he lost his place in the Indian limited overs setup in the past year just before the ODI World Cup 2023 due to a string of indifferent performances. Although the 33-year-old returned to ODIs during the tour to South Africa in December, his omission from the T20I continues.
Despite that, when Harbhajan Singh was asked about his top three spin picks for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024, he was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times, “I would keep Yuzvendra Chahal ahead (for the first slot among spinners).”
Harbhajan Singh said, “He (Yuzvendra Chahal) is being ignored; I don’t know why. I don’t think he knows as well. But even today, I don’t think there is a better leg-spinner in the country. And I don’t think there is a braver spinner than him. He has a very sharp mind. The second spinner for me would be Ravindra Jadeja. You need to have an off-spinner in Washington Sundar as well. Now, what selectors think, what the management thinks, is a different thing.”
