Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh questioned Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee's decision to snub Yuzvendra Chahal from the 2023 Asia Cup squad. Harbhajan, who has closely followed Chahal's career, deemed the leggie as the best white-ball spinner in India currently. The ex-India cricketer acknowledged Chahal currently being out of form but shed light on what the veteran leg-spinner adds to the Indian side.
"The one thing I feel is lacking in the team is the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal. A leg-spinner who can get the ball to turn away. If you talk about genuine spinner, I don't think there's any spinner in India better than Chahal in white-ball formats. Yes, his last few games weren't good, but that doesn't make him a bad bowler," Harbhajan said on his official YouTube channel.
Chahal failed to perform according to his lofty standards during the West Indies tour and his lack of returns with the ball directly coincided with Kuldeep Yadav's stellar show in the Caribbean. As a result, Kuldeep got the nod ahead of Chahal, purely on the basis of recent form. Moreover, Chahal's lack of ability to contribute with the bat also weakened his case for selection.
Harbhajan reckons that Chahal can play a big role in the 2023 World Cup, especially with the competition scheduled to be held in India and hopes that the doors are not completely closed on the leg-spinner.
"I think his presence in the team was necessary. I hope the doors aren't closed to him. It's important to consider him for the World Cup because the tournament is in India. Chahal is a proven match-winner. I can understand his form isn't good, so you may have rested him. But I think if he was with the team, his confidence would've stayed intact. Any player who comes back after being dropped, the pressure to perform is always there," Harbhajan added.
India squad for Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna
Reserve player: Sanju Samson.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
'What's all this': Ex-India captain brutally slams Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for picking KL Rahul in 2023 Asia Cup squad
Sohail Khan torments Robin Uthappa's team with four consecutive wickets, Misbah and Carter smash four sixes in last over to seal epic finish
