India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Saturday (September 28) confessed that the World Cup 2019 semi-final defeat against New Zealand was difficult to digest and he struggled to hide his emotions when MS Dhoni got out in a tense chase at Old Trafford on Wednesday (July 10).
In the semi-final, Dhoni put up 116 runs for the seventh wicket with Ravindra Jadeja, who played a knock of his life to change the course of the match after a miserable top-order collapse. After Jadeja’s dismissal on 59-ball 77, Dhoni had a tough task (30 runs off 12 balls) at hand which he might have pulled off if it was not for Martin Guptill’s direct-hit.
Dhoni was run out for 72-ball 50 in the penultimate over as India eventually fell 18 runs short of Black Caps’ target.
"It was my 1st World Cup and when Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) got out and I was going in (to bat), I was trying to hold back my tears. It was so depressing,” Chahal said while speaking at the 10th edition of India Today Mind Rocks Youth Summit in New Delhi.
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"We played so well for 9 games but suddenly we were going out of the tournament. Rain wasn't in our hands and so it won't be right to say anything (about the interruption). It was the first time that we really wanted to go back to the hotel as soon as possible from the ground," he added.
Chahal also stressed that he would want to be part of a World Cup-winning team and thus he is focusing to get himself ready for the two upcoming T20 World Cups in 2020 and 2021.
"I want to continue for 5-6 years. I want to win at least one World Cup. I think the way we have been playing and how our team is shaping up currently, its a positive sign. We won in New Zealand, Australia and West Indies and if we win the T20 World Cup next year, all the noise will die down," he said.
Chahal and his fellow wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav didn’t feature in India’s last two T20I series against West Indies and South Africa as the team management wanted to try out a certain combination.
Commenting on his and Kuldeep’s exclusion from the T20I set-up, Chahal said: "Your job is to perform. when we (Kuldeep and me) came we poerformed really well. After IPL, our bench strength has got pretty strong too. Now if the team management is trying good talent, it is good that you know that there is competition and you have to work harder. You can't stay away from cricket."
