3 reasons why India picking Yuzvendra Chahal for T20 World Cup 2024 is the wrong move
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2024. The ICC event is slated to take place from June 1 to 29, in the USA and West Indies.
Rohit Sharma's deputy will be Hardik Pandya, who is currently leading the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant are the two wicket-keepers in the squad, while Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the all-rounders.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are specialist spinners, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh are the pacers.
The tournament will also mark Chahal's first-ever T20 World Cup appearance, despite him being the highest wicket-taker for the country in the shortest format.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why picking Chahal for T20 World Cup 2024 is a wrong move.
1) Has limited appearances in West Indies
Yuzvendra Chahal has represented India in a total of three T20Is and four ODIs in the West Indies. In the ODI format, Chahal has scalped eight wickets, with best figures of 4/17 against West Indies in July 2022.
Meanwhile, the wily spinner has picked up four wickets in three T20Is at an economy of 7.60. Certainly, Chahal doesn't have enough appearances in Caribbean soil, which can backfire on the Indian team. But his numbers in the limited appearances have been quite good.
2) Yuzvendra Chahal last played a T20I in August 2023
The form in the IPL is crucial for any bowler, as they are pitted against the best T20 batters all around the world. However, the situations, conditions and opposition players are entirely different in international cricket.
Yuzvendra Chahal last represented India against West Indies in August 2023, and returned with figures of 0/51 off four overs. Thereafter, he was not in the scheme of things for the selectors.
The reason he got dropped was due to his lack of wicket-taking ability. emergence of Ravi Bishnoi and the management opting to play with spin all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. With such a long layoff period, Chahal will be under pressure to pick up wickets for the Men in Blue.
3) Proven expensive on multiple occasions in T20s
In the T20 format, it is important for the bowlers to never deviate from their plans, despite the batters slashing their blades at everything. In this aspect, Chahal comes under pressure in a tough tournament like IPL.
Although Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in the cash-rich league, he can prove to be expensive at times, which is true for almost every wrist spinner.
His last three performances for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024 are 0/41, 1/48 and 1/54.
It will be interesting to see if Chahal gets a nod from Rohit Sharma for a place in the playing XI in T20 World Cup 2024.