Never asked anyone why, but felt bad – Yuzvendra Chahal on the 2021 T20 World Cup snub

Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal admitted that he felt bad after he was left out of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Chahal revealed that he didn’t ask anyone why he was not included in the T20I showpiece. In fact, Chahal had scalped 18 wickets in 15 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021 but still, he was left out of the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup.

Furthermore, Chahal had conceded his runs at an economy rate of 7.05 in IPL 2021 and his exclusion was a major surprise for many cricket experts. In place of Yuzvendra Chahal, experienced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was included in India’s squad.

Meanwhile, India lost the first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand and they could not qualify for the semifinal stages.

Speaking with YouTube Channel Sports Yaari, Chahal said, “I never asked anyone why (about the 2021 World Cup snub) because that’s not in my control. Obviously, you feel bad that you aren’t a part of the World Cup, but they might have thought that someone else was better and fair enough.”

“What was in my hands was performing and that’s exactly what I did in the second half of the IPL 2021 in the UAE,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chahal revealed that Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid told him to work on his bowling in the death overs while playing in the IPL.

“Before heading to the IPL, Rohit Bhaiya told me that I might need to bowl at different stages of the game and even at the death. Rahul sir had also told me to work on my fuller deliveries. So, when I went to the Rajasthan Royals, I spoke to Sanju and he supported me and said that I will bowl an over at the death, no matter how many runs I go for.

“I started practicing yorkers on the single wicket and used variations like a cross seam. I kept on asking the batters how much I was missing the yorker by and all the feedback really helped me,” Chahal explained.

Chahal was able to prove his mettle in IPL 2022 as he scalped 27 wickets in 17 matches for Rajasthan Royals and thus played a huge role in taking the franchise to the final of the tournament. Thus, the leg-spinner is expected to get the backing in the upcoming T20 World Cup as he has been performing consistently.