Earlier this week, the BCCI men's selection committee unveiled India’s 17-member squad for the Asia Cup 2023, slated to be held in Sri Lanka and Pakistan from August 30 to September 17.
While KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer made a return to the team after a lengthy injury hiatus, Sanju Samson was picked just as a backup option and promising left-hander Tilak Varma earned his maiden ODI call-up.
There was also a noteworthy omission as wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal failed to make the cut.
Like always, India’s selected squad triggered an outrage with fans and experts expressing their disagreement over certain decisions.
While many former cricketers questioned the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel’s call to leave out Chahal, ex-Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria backed the move and stated that the Rajasthan Royals spinner "doesn't deserve" to be in the team right now.
"Yuzvendra Chahal doesn't deserve to be in Team India right now. He has been very inconsistent. Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, has picked up wickets regularly and can be effective in the middle overs. The selectors took the right call by going with Kuldeep over Chahal," Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
Earlier, legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh expressed his disappointment over Chahal’s exclusion and hailed him as India's best spinner 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 had said on his YouTube channel.
"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.
