India’s leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has opened up on his T20 World Cup snub. Chahal said he felt really down for a couple of days after he was included in India’s 15-man squad for the T20I showpiece.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee headed by Chetan Sharma preferred Rahul Chahar over Yuzvendra Chahal as a leg-spinner as they wanted a spinner who could bowl quicker through the air.
However, Chahal has more experience under his belt than Chahar. In fact, Chahal was India’s highest T20I wicket-taker before the T20 World Cup. The leg-spinner from Haryana also had an impressive run in IPL 2021 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Chahal scalped 18 wickets in 15 matches for RCB and bowled with an impressive economy rate of 7.05. In fact, Chahal had struggled to get going in the first phase of the tournament as he could only manage four wickets in seven matches. However, the leg-spinner was able to turn the tables as he bagged 14 wickets in the second leg of the tourney in the eight matches he played.
Thus, he played an instrumental role in taking his team to the playoff stages but Chahal was still ignored for the T20 World Cup and it was a difficult pill to swallow for him.
“I was not dropped in four years and then I got dropped for such a marquee event. I felt really bad. I was down for two-three days. But then I knew the second leg of the IPL was still around the corner. I went back to my coaches and spoke to them a lot,” Chahal told the Times of India.
Chahal revealed that his family and fans supported him when he was going through a rough time.
“My wife and family were constantly encouraging me. My fans kept putting out motivational posts. That buoyed me. I decided to back my strengths and overcome my confusion. I couldn’t have sulked for long because that would have impacted my IPL form,” he added.
Chahal has been picked in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand and he would look to prove his mettle. The first T20I between India and New Zealand will be played in Jaipur on Wednesday.
