Does Yuzvendra Chahal deserve a place in the Indian squad for T20 World Cup 2021?
Yuzvendra Chahal has been India's most successful bowler in T20Is. In 49 matches, the leggie has bagged 63 wickets at an average of 25.30. He has been an attacking option for India, especially in the middle overs, and has been a match-winner with the ball on several occasions.
Chahal has struggled in T20Is for the past two seasons. In 2020, the leggie picked up just seven wickets at an average of 45.29 and an economy rate of 9.06. The year 2021 has been no different for him in T20Is and he has just four wickets to his credit in four matches.
Indian selectors subsequently left Chahal out of the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The most successful bowler in the team could not find a place in the squad that included five spinning options for team India.
Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandra Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar are part of the T20 World Cup 2021 India Squad.
Chahal's current form
Since being left out of the squad, Chahal has been in exceptional form in the UAE leg of IPL 2021. He has picked up 10 wickets in 18 overs at an economy rate of 5.94 in the second leg of IPL 2021. The said 10 wickets have been picked up in just five matches.
He has picked up the wickets of cricketers who have played international cricket in the second leg of the IPL 2021 and some of his victims include K. L. Rahul, Pooran, Ishan Kishan, Quinton de Kock, Gill, and Livingstone.
He has been the go-to man for skipper Virat Kohli and the leggie has delivered with the ball whenever his team requires a wicket. Chahal is one of the main reasons why RCB has made it to the playoffs in IPL 2021.
.@RCBTweets march into #VIVOIPL Playoffs! 👏 👏
The @imVkohli-led unit beat #PBKS by 6 runs & become the third team to reach the playoffs. 👍 👍 #RCBvPBKS
Scorecard 👉 iplt20.com/match/2021/48 https://t.co/IHn4PanHwX
Form of Rahul Chahar in IPL 2021:
Out of the five spinners picked for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Jadeja, Ashwin, Patel, and Chakravarthy have been in decent touch in IPL 2021.
Rahul Chahar, however, has failed to deliver for Mumbai Indians in the second leg of IPL 2021. He has picked up just two wickets in 15 overs in the second leg of IPL 2021 at an economy rate of 7.73.
He was not part of the Mumbai Indians team that faced Delhi Capitals on 2nd October 2021. The young leggie's confidence has taken a dent in the UAE leg of IPL 2021.
Chahar, however, was in exceptional form in T20Is in 2021. He has picked up six wickets at an average of 18.33 in four T20Is in 2021.
Check out the full list of T20 World Cup 2021 India schedule.
Conclusion:
On current form, Chahal deserves a place ahead of Chahar in the squad for the T20 World Cup 2021. Secondly, Chahal is vastly experienced in T20Is as compared to Chahar.
India's #T20WorldCup squad had no room for Yuzvendra Chahal, with Rahul Chahar taking the legspinner's slot
However, since #IPL2021's restart, Chahal has emerged as a prolific spinner in the UAE 👉 es.pn/3zTPa3I https://t.co/LXkwIsbBwQ
Chahal has been a part of the Indian ODI and T20I squad for more than four years and has played T20Is all over the globe. He has tasted success in UAE in IPL cricket.
Though it can be hard on Chahar, the selectors could just rope in Chahal for the T20 World Cup 2021.