The way he has bowled, I am surprised he is not playing all the matches – Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal

 

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is surprised to note that Yuzvendra Chahal is not playing all the limited over matches for India. There is no iota of doubt that the leg-spinner is currently India’s best spinner. Chahal was at his best in the limited-overs leg against England and delivered consistently for the team.

The talisman scalped seven wickets in three ODI matches at an average of 16.71 and an economy rate of 5.37. The leg-spinner took four wickets in two T20I matches at an average of 10.50 and an economy rate of 7. As India had taken an impregnable lead of 2-0 in the T20I series, the tourists had played Ravi Bishnoi in place of Chahal.

Chahal’s best performance on the tour came in the second ODI at Lord’s when he returned with impressive figures of 4-47 in his quota of 10 overs. However, his efforts went in vain as India lost that match by a huge margin of 100 runs.

The experienced leg-spinner also took three wickets in the decider ODI at Old Trafford and played a key role in restricting England to 259.

Aakash Chopra picked Yuzvendra Chahal as his fourth best performer against England after Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant.

Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Last but not the least – my fourth player is Yuzi Chahal. His performances force you to think why he is not regularly in the team. The way he has bowled, I am slightly surprised you are not playing him all the matches.”

Chahal returned with figures of 2-32 and 2-10 in the first two T20Is he played.

“Why do you keep him out of the team in between? He played two matches in T20s, four wickets with an economy of 7.0. Two wickets in both innings, well done Yuzi.”

The renowned commentator added that Chahal is showing he is a special player as he is consistently performing for the national team.

“If we talk about ODI cricket, seven wickets in three innings with an economy of 5.35 and a best of 4/47. He didn’t get much chance to bowl in the first match. He is also telling us time and again that he is a special player and that you can use him better.”

Meanwhile, Chahal has been rested for the T20I series against the West Indies but former Delhi player isn’t pleased by the selector’s call.

“Personally, I didn’t like that he is being rested, he will play the ODIs in the West Indies tour but not the T20s. In my opinion, he should be allowed to play. He is not someone whose workload management you should talk about for the simple reason that he is a spinner, he will be alright.”