Team India announced their squad for the Asia Cup a couple of days ago in Delhi with chief selector Ajit Agarjkar and captain Rohit Sharma addressing the press conference. While most of the squad was on the expected lines, there were a couple of surprises with Tilak Varma getting the nod after his performances in the T20Is against the West Indies while Yuzvendra Chahal, the lead spinner for India in white-ball cricket was left out of the 17-man squad.
Chahal’s exclusion invited divided reactions as many considered it a fair selection given the lack of returns for the leggie in the last one and a half years while many were of the view that since he is experienced, the Men in Blue could have kept him in the squad. One of the senior cricketers with the same view is former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who said that Chahal is still one of the best that India have and few bad games don’t make him a bad bowler.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan said, “The one thing I feel is lacking in the team is the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal. A leg-spinner who can get the ball to turn away. If you talk about genuine spinner, I don’t think there’s any spinner in India better than Chahal in white-ball formats. Yes, his last few games weren’t good, but that doesn’t make him a bad bowler.
Harbhajan admitted that Chahal hasn’t been in the best of form but he should have been picked in the team as non-selection could further impact his confidence, which might be already low with the lack of returns in recent times.
“I think his presence in the team was necessary. I hope the doors aren’t closed to him. It’s important to consider him for the World Cup because the tournament is in India. Chahal is a proven match-winner. I can understand his form isn’t good, so you may have rested him. But I think if he was with the team, his confidence would’ve stayed intact. Any player who comes back after being dropped, the pressure to perform is always there,” Harbhajan added.
Only three spinners including Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav have been picked in the Asia Cup squad.