T20 World Cup 2024: Team India’s former World Cup-winning spinner Harbhajan Singh is unable to decode why Yuzvendra Chahal has been kept out of the scheme of things for India when it comes to the World Cup events. The veteran spinner reckons Chahal should be India’s go-to spinner in the T20Is.
Yuzvendra Chahal was once a staple in India’s white-ball lineups, however, he witnessed a decline in his stocks over time. He has been left out of India’s World Cup squads multiple times, despite performing decently in the bilateral matches.
After missing the ODI World Cup 2023, Chahal made a comeback in ODIs during the India vs South Africa series, however, he remains a miss in the T20Is. His place in the T20I side has been awarded to Ravi Bishnoi.
The T20 World Cup 2024 is just a few months away and all the focus will be on how players perform ahead of the marquee event. So far the squads for the event haven’t been finalised and there are chances aplenty for players to prove their worth.
A huge role in how the Indian squad would look would be determined by how the targetted players perform in the IPL 2024. It is noteworthy that Team India have already completed all their bilateral T20I engagements ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.
“I would keep Yuzvendra Chahal ahead (for the first slot among spinners),” Harbhajan said when asked about his top-three spin picks for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.
The 2011 World Cup-winning cricketer feels that India doesn’t have a better leg-spinner than Yuzvendra Chahal at present.
“He is being ignored; I don’t know why. I don’t think he knows as well. But even today, I don’t think there is a better leg-spinner in the country. And I don’t think there is a braver spinner than him. He has a very sharp mind,” he added.
“The second spinner for me would be Ravindra Jadeja. You need to have an off-spinner in Washington Sundar as well. Now, what selectors think, what the management thinks, is a different thing,” Harbhajan said during a chat on the sidelines of the DP World International League T20 (ILT20) in the UAE.
The T20 World Cup 2024 is scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the USA. The surfaces in both countries will have enough for the spinners.
“Pitches will be pretty similar, like India. Spinners will play a big role. I’ve been to the West Indies on many occasions, and I’ve seen there’s always something for the spinners. Hence, it is important to pick the right attack. You cannot look past the conditions because they will be similar to the subcontinent. You have to make the team keeping in mind the conditions. You need to have at least three spinners in your squad,” said Harbhajan.
The upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup will begin on June 1, meanwhile, Team India will have their opening assignment on June 5 against Ireland in New York. The much-awaited India vs Pakistan fixture will be held on June 9.
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