Yuzvendra Chahal was snubbed for the Asia Cup 2023 and the Indian management opted for the likes of Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav instead.
Yuzvendra Chahal was a 'surprise' exclusion from India's Asia Cup squad. The leg-spinner's latest snub did not go down well with India's Harbhajan Singh. The veteran offie shared his views on Chahal's exclusion from the squad on his YouTube channel. The BCCI selectors gave preference to Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel over Yuzvendra Chahal. (More Cricket News)
The 33-year-old has been in and out of the side over the last two years or so. He was part of the T20 World Cup squad last year but failed to get a single game Down Under as India crashed out of the tournament in the semis.
Harbhajan felt that Chahal is India's best spinenr in white-ball cricket.
"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 said on his YouTube channel.
'Bhajji' hoped that Chahal would make the cut for the World Cup squad as it will be held in India.
"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," he added.
Chahal has played 72 ODIs for India and scalped 121 wickets at an average 27.13.