India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not picked in India's 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup squad. The reason behind him not getting a place was his inability to contribute with the bat and his not-so-extraordinary numbers in ODI cricket. Chahal’s exclusion baffled many including Harbhajan Singh. However, this is not the first time the leggie has been out of favour. He was not picked in T20 World Cup 2021 whereas he did not get game time in T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Chahal opened on the exclusion as he told The Wisden, "I understand that only fifteen players can be a part, because it's a World Cup, where you can't take 17 or 18."
"I do feel a little bad, but my motto in life is to move on. I'm used to it now… it's been three World Cups (laughs)," he added.
After not finding a place in the World Cup squad or Asian Games 2023, Chahal decided to give the red ball a chance and play County cricket in England for Kent rather than sitting at home.
"That's why I came here [at Kent] to play because I want to play cricket somewhere, somehow," Chahal said.
The 33-year-old who is yet to make his Test debut is hopeful of getting his chance. “I'm getting a chance here with a red ball, and I seriously want to play red ball for India. So it was a good experience for me," he further added.
In the two games so far, Chahal has picked up nine wickets including best figures of 3/63 against Nottinghamshire on debut. The Haryana-born cricketer feels that match practice is superior to bowling in the nets.
"I spoke to the coaches too, and they're happy I'm playing somewhere, because you can practice as much in the nets, but match is match. I'm getting to play at a very good level here – first division, County – learning a lot here," Chahal concluded.
In Chahal’s absence, the selectors have picked three spinners in Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav. It will be interesting to see how many matches Rohit Sharma will pick all three of them.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
