Have we seen the last of Yuzvendra Chahal in the Indian jersey? The leg spinner who’s the highest wicket-taker for the Indian cricket team in T20Is hasn’t been selected for the IND vs ZIM T20I series, which starts on July 6. Off the back of an incredible bowling display in the recently concluded IPL 2024 season, Chahal was picked for the T20 World Cup.
The leggie, who’d never played in a T20 World Cup despite making his debut in 2016, was ecstatic when he found out that he’d be on the flight across the Atlantic. But that hasn’t panned out the way he would have wanted. Chahal is yet to get a game in the mega-event in which India has already played 6 matches.
Ravi Bishnoi edges out Yuzvendra Chahal
Now, he’s also been excluded from India’s squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Ironically, Ravi Bishnoi is the one who’s forced him out. The same Bishnoi, who couldn’t make the cut for the T20 World Cup because of his poor IPL 2024 performance, was preferred over him. There are multiple reasons why India is looking past him.
- Fitness: Chahal has never been a great athlete. Bishnoi, who’s a decade younger than him, is one of the best Indian fielders out there. He’s known to take blinders, and he took some spectacular catches in IPL 2024 as well. Bowling his 4-over quota won’t be difficult, but contributing in the field has always been a challenge for Chahal.
- Trust: Since he was dropped about 4 years ago, Indian management’s trust in him has decreased over time. In the last 18 months, he’s played just 9 T20Is and taken the same number of wickets. In contrast, Bishnoi played 11 T20Is in 2023 alone.
- Form: In the last T20I series he played, he managed to take just 5 wickets in 5 matches. He was out-bowled by two spinners in the series and didn’t inspire much confidence on what were spin-friendly wickets. In the IPL 2024 season, the same happened. He had 11 wickets in the first 6 matches, and then got just 7 wickets in the last 9 matches.
Chahal vs Bishnoi: Performance in IPL 2024
| Player | Inn | Wkts | Avg | Econ | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuzvendra Chahal | 15 | 18 | 30.33 | 9.41 | 19.33 |
| Ravi Bishnoi | 14 | 10 | 28.3 | 8.77 | 26.2 |
India’s squad for Zimbabwe T20Is
Ꮪhubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh. Sanju Samson (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar. Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
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