Aakash Chopra comes out in support of Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal after T20 World Cup snub – Firstcricket News, Firstpost
The India squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, which was announced on Wednesday, included a few surprises. While Ravichandran Ashwin is making a comeback in the 15-member squad, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shikhar Dhawan have been left out, with Chahar only being included as a standby member.
The biggest surprise of all, former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been appointed as mentor for the series.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra also weighed in on the selection, calling it surprising that Chahar and Chahal had been excluded from the squad.
In an interaction with ESPNCricInfo, Chopra said that not selecting Chahal “is shocking and Deepak Chahar’s exclusion is surprising too, as he also gives you wickets with the new ball”.
The 43-year-old Delhi batsman posted on social media that India is “one fast bowler shy” after not picking Chahar. The Chennai Super Kings player has taken 20 wickets in 14 matches in the IPL since 2018, with an economy of 7.6 runs per over.
These are Deepak Chahar’s numbers. 20 wickets in 14 T20i @ 19.3 with an eco of 7.6 rpo. IPL numbers aren’t too dissimilar either. You can call me a little biased towards Deepak (I think I am 😊) but he’s got every right to feel disappointed. India is one fast-bowler shy, me feels pic.twitter.com/cluW6mHMX5
— Wear a Mask. Get Vaccinated, India (@cricketaakash) September 9, 2021
Chopra also added that he would have preferred Chahar over Mohammed Shami. According to him, while Shami is a great blower, his T20 record is not impressive.
Similarly, Chopra questioned the decision to leave Chahal out of the squad. Adding that the Royal Challenger Bangalore spinner has been India’s best spinner in the T20 format for the last few years, Chopra questioned why the world’s best spinner after Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan was not picked when India have included five spinners in the squad.
Yuzi Chahal has been India’s best T20
spinner for the last few years. And he’s the second best T20 spinner in the world after Rashid Khan. India picks 5 spinners and he isn’t one of them. Let that sink in. #IndianCricketTeam— Wear a Mask. Get Vaccinated, India (@cricketaakash) September 8, 2021
Chahal has picked up 19 wickets in 22 T20 matches since 2019. In the first half of the IPL 2021, he scalped four wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 8.26.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin in the United Arab Emirates from 24 October, with India facing off against arch-rivals Pakistan in the high-stakes first game.
The Indian squad, led by Captain Virat Kohli, also includes Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan Suryakumar Yadav Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, and Rahul Chahar. Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Mohammed Shami.
