"Rahul Chahar would be wondering what he has done wrong" - Sunil Gavaskar on leg-spinner's exclusion from New Zealand squad
Sunil Gavaskar believes leg-spinner Rahul Chahar will be pondering his exclusion from India's squad for the forthcoming T20Is against New Zealand.
Rahul Chahar was part of India's team for the T20 World Cup. He was selected over the more experienced Yuzvendra Chahal because of his quicker and flatter leg-spin trajectory. But he got only one opportunity in the tournament - against Namibia in a dead rubber - where he bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 30 runs.
Speaking in an interview with Sports Today, Sunil Gavaskar expressed hope that the selectors will explain to the 22-year-old spinner the reasons behind his exclusion.
Sunil Gavaskar said:
"I am pretty certain that Rahul Chahar would be wondering what he has done that he's not in this 16 that has been announced. He was good enough to be in the 15 for the World Cup. He got one opportunity in which he gave away 7.5 runs an over. So he will be certainly wondering what did he do wrong. I hope that somebody from the selection committee would tell him the reason [why] he's out of this squad."
The dip in Rahul Chahar's form started in the second half of the IPL. In the India leg he had picked up 11 wickets from seven games. But he managed just two wickets from four matches in the UAE.
.@ImRo45 all set to lead #TeamIndia's T20I squad against New Zealand. 👍 👍
How excited are you for the home series? #INDvNZ https://t.co/wGCe0gBbL2
However, while he has been disregarded for the New Zealand series, Rahul Chahar has been named in the squad for the India 'A' tour of South Africa. He'll want to regain his touch and stake a claim for a return to the main team.
Check out the full 2021 T20 World Cup squad here.
"Hope Venkatesh Iyer will get more opportunities than Shankar and Dube" - Sunil Gavaskar
Realised that I should be more specific. I was referring to Venkatesh Iyer (Not Shreyas) …who opened for KKR. But might be asked to play as a finisher against NZ. twitter.com/cricketaakash/…
One of the notable new faces in the Indian T20I squad is all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer. Sunil Gavaskar said Iyer can be utilized in the lower order for India.
The former captain had hoped that Iyer would get more opportunities than previous all-rounders who were given only a handful of chances. Sunil Gavaskar added that Iyer will ensure competition for the all-rounder's spot and will make sure that no one "takes his place for granted", in an apparent reference to Hardik Pandya.
Sunil Gavaskar said:
"Wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Look, down the order [batting] at six or seven with his medium pace stuff, because you are talking about a four-over spell - if you can do that then you've got another option. I think for the last three-four years we have just been fixated on one option, to the extent that we probably didn't deal with Vijay Shankar and Shivam Dube the way we should have. But, here, hopefully, Venkatesh Iyer will get more opportunities than these two guys got because that might give us the options. And once you have options and competitions then nobody takes his place in the team for granted."
The three T20Is will commence on November 17 in Jaipur, kicking off India's new T20I era under the stewardship of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid.