Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing today's T20I match against New Zealand?

Yuzvendra Chahal is India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is. However, the leg-spinner lost his place in the playing XI for the series decider against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, February 1.

Chahal looked in good form in the previous match at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. He bowled a tight spell of 1/4 but lost his place in the team for the third T20I to speedster Umran Malik.

Captain Hardik Pandya explained the thought process behind dropping Yuzvendra Chahal at the coin toss and said:

"One change - Umran (Malik) comes in for Yuzi (Chahal) because this surface looks like it will help the fast bowlers."

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India have three spin-bowling options in the playing XI for the match against New Zealand. Washington Sundar and Deepak Hooda can bowl off-spin while the Men in Blue have a left-arm wrist-spin option in Kuldeep Yadav.

Yuzvendra Chahal picked up 1 wicket in 2 matches at Narendra Modi Stadium in IPL 2022

Yuzvendra Chahal played two matches for Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium during the IPL 2022 playoffs. He was ineffective in the Qualifier 2 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore as he conceded 45 runs in his four wicketless overs.

Chahal performed better in the IPL 2022 Final against the Gujarat Titans though, returning with figures of 1/20 in his four overs. Interestingly, his only wicket in the two matches was that of GT skipper Hardik Pandya.

Umran Malik did not play any matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium during the previous IPL season. It will be interesting to see how the speedster performs in his first T20I on this ground.

The pitch at the world's largest cricket stadium looks fantastic for batting as India have posted 234/4 on the board in their 20 overs.

You can follow the live scorecard of the match right here.

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