Cricket News: 'Not playing Yuzvendra Chahal was one of the biggest mistakes' - Former selector criticises India after semi-final defeat
Yuzvendra Chahal was one of the three players in the Indian squad who did not play a single match during the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia
Yuzvendra Chahal: Not played a single match of T20 World Cup 2022India's campaign at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 ended with a heavy defeat to England in Adelaide. After the first batting session, Hardik Pandya and Virat Kohli took India to 168/6, but England overhauled the target in 16 overs with a 10-wicket win to enter the final.
Of India's 15-member squad, three players return home without having played a single match, including Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Hooda, and Harshal Patel.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A friendly reminder that Yuzvendra Chahal has never bowled a single ball in a T20 World Cup. <a href="https://t.co/QBX2vun2rP">pic.twitter.com/QBX2vun2rP</a></p>— Broken Cricket Dreams Cricket Blog (@cricket_broken) <a href="https://twitter.com/cricket_broken/status/1590651583741583360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
"One of the biggest mistakes the team made was not playing Yuzvendra Chahal throughout the tournament, especially today. You saw how effective England's off-the-cuff spinners were. Not playing Rishabh Pant in the league phase (he played only one match) also puzzled me," Sarandeep told the news agency PTI.
He also pointed out the lack of runs from Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, who regularly trouble the Indian midfield.
"Unfortunately for India, Rahul and Rohit have not been able to find form in the big games, which puts pressure on Virat and Suryakumar, both of whom are unable to play the match to match," Said Sarandeep.
He said the team management must make critical decisions ahead of the next T20 World Cup in 2024.
"I do not see at least half of the team members playing in the next T20 World Cup, including Rohit, Virat, Ashwin, Shami, and Bhuvi. The selectors have to take a decision," the former Indian spinner said.
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was also surprised at Chahal's exclusion as Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone proved very effective in shutting down the Indian batters.
"India did not have a spinner off the wrist and England had two spinners. In hindsight, they certainly missed Chahal. He can control his pace like Rashid did tonight." Said Sarandeep.