Yuzvendra Chahal, the seasoned pro-Indian leg-spinner, expressed his sentiments about not making it to the Indian team squad for the upcoming World Cup, starting from October 8. Despite the exclusion, Chahal maintains composure and positive thinking, and wishes luck to the World Cup squad. While speaking to Wisden.com, Chahal acknowledged the constraints of World Cup squad selection, according to him, he understands the dynamics of selection and is focused on performing to his best abilities whenever he is given a chance. He is more focused on things which he can control, which is to perform rather than thinking too much about the selection.

Competition among other spinners in the Indian team

Despite losing his place in the World Cup to Ashwin and Kuldeep, Chahal said “I don’t think too much about competing with other spinners in the Indian team, because he knows if he performs then he will play. Someone or another will eventually replace you, that’s the nature of competition in cricket, nothing is permanent. So I tried to be optimistic and play as many matches as possible. In the interview he said that Ashwin and Kuldeep are performing well and I appreciate that and I understand that there can only be 15 members for a World Cup squad not 16-17. I am feeling bad for not getting selected but my moto is to move on and I’m used to it now because I have missed three World Cup’s, ”he laughed.

Since his debut in the ODI format in 2016, Chahal has 121 wickets in 72 appearances, second among spinners after Kuldeep Yadav, and third among India bowlers. The leggie was also the top wicket taker among spinners at the 2019 World Cup, which was mostly dominated by Fast bowlers, he took 12 wickets in 8 matches.

Missed 3 World Cup’s on the trot

Let’s recall the year 2021, Chahal had an impressive IPL season that year taking 18 wickets in 15 matches with an handy average of 20, but his performance failed to impress the selectors and he was ignored for the 2021 T20 World Cup, though he was selected for 2022 T20 World Cup but he didn’t get any game in the entire World Cup which India lost to England in Semi-final. Chahal was also overlooked for the 2023 ODI World Cup, which is scheduled to begin on October 5 in India. Chahal quoted in the interview that “I like challenges in life, Ashwin and Kuldeep are doing well at the moment and I appreciate that. The main goal is to win the World Cup, with me or without me, I wish my fellow teammates to bring the trophy”.

Future Plans

Currently, Chahal is playing the County Championship with Kent in order to improve his skills and performance in red ball cricket as well. Because he plans to play test cricket for India in future, that’s why he is in England playing the County Championship. He is looking forward to making a strong comeback and contributing to the success of the Indian team whenever the opportunity comes.