Yuzvendra Chahal opens up on continuous snub from playing XI, says 'cricket is not an individual game like chess'

The vast pool of cricketers that India currently have will make any cricket-playing nation envious.

SportsTak

• Sun • 06 Aug 2023

The vast pool of cricketers that India currently have will make any cricket-playing nation envious. India being a cricketing powerhouse and producing generational talents at a breakneck pace, players have to perform consistently at the highest level in order to keep their place in the national team playing XI. Ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who used to be one of the untouchables in the Indian team until a couple of years ago, is currently struggling to make it into the playing XI.

Chahal didn't feature in even a single ODI against West Indies before retiring to the playing XI in the first T20I. The veteran leg-spinner seems to have become the second preferred spinner in white-ball cricket after Kuldeep Yadav.

Chahal opened up on being continuously snubbed from the playing XI and exuded an optimistic demeanour. The 33-year-old understands why it has become harder for him to find a place in the playing XI. He explained that cricket is a team sport and the combination is what matter the most rather than an individual.

"Team combination is our priority and it is not something new. At 7 we generally play Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel. Three spinners can only play if the wickets are spin friendly. Kuldeep is bowling really well, he is in a great rhythm and that's why team is backing him. I keep working on nets so that whenever I get the chance I will grab it," Chahal told reporters ahead of the second T20 against Windies.

"We are professional cricketers. I was playing after two months, last I played was in the IPL. It is all about the preparation. This is not an individual sport, you are playing here for your team. There are times when players has to sit out for two series, so it doesn't mean that they are not part of the team.

"I am very happy that I am getting to wear the blue jersey everyday. I am not sitting at home. I am travelling with the team. I am part of the team. I have played chess, it is an individual game but cricket is a team sport. Out of fifteen people in the squad only eleven can play. In the past few series, when I was playing Kuldeep was not getting the chances," he added.