Finance
In the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from India’s squad for the ODI series against Australia and the Cricket World Cup 2023, former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh expressed disappointment. India went with the spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja but an injury to Axar paved the way for Washington Sundar in the Asia Cup 2023 squad and Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad for the Australia ODIs. Harbhajan expressed surprise at the decision not to give Chahal a chance. He speculated that perhaps Chahal had engaged in a dispute or made a remark that influenced his chances of selection.
“Yuzvendra Chahal should have been here. He has not been given an opportunity. It is beyond my understanding. Either he has fought with someone or he has said something to someone, I don’t know. If we talk only about skill, his name should have been there in this team because a lot of Team India players are resting,” Harbhajan said on his official YouTube channel.
Harbhajan also pointed out that both Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin were not part of the original plan and it can point to the fact that the team management is looking for an off-spinner.
“Initially, Washington Sundar, who wasn’t part of the original Asia Cup squad, received a call-up. Afterward, R Ashwin, a second player, was included for this series. So somewhere or the other Team India are searching for off-spinners. They have probably realized their mistake that they haven’t picked an off-spinner in the team and that our bowlers can get into trouble if a lot of left-handers come in front of them. Why unnecessarily go through all this? It is beyond my understanding or they are going to make another mistake to rectify their earlier mistake,” he added.
