IND vs AUS: ‘If Deepak Chahar Was Fit To Play And Umesh Yadav Played Before Him, Then There Is Confusion’- Ashish Nehra

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra questioned why Umesh Yadav played ahead of Deepak Chahar in the Indian team for the first T20I of the three-match series against Australia in Mohali on Tuesday. India lost the match by 4 wickets despite scoring 208/6 batting first.

Indian bowlers came in for some heavy criticism especially Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who went for 49 and 52 runs respectively in their quota of 4 overs each. Umesh Yadav, who played his first T20I after three years, went for 27 runs in his 2 overs, picking 2 wickets.

However, the focus was on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose poor outing in death overs continued as he gave 16 runs in the 19^th over when 18 were needed off the last 2 overs. Before him, Harshal Patel had gone for 22 runs in the 18^th over, with Matthew Wade running wild and ending up making 45* and taking Australia home with 4 balls to spare.

Earlier Cameron Green had given Australia a good start as he smoked 61 runs in 30 balls opening for the first time in T20Is.

Why Did Umesh Yadav Play? If Bumrah Wasn’t Fit, I Would Also Like To Know Why You Didn’t Play Deepak Chahar- Ashish Nehra  

Deepak Chahar had made his return to the Indian team in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, was not named in the Asia Cup squad but has been named in the T20 World Cup 2022 squad as a reserve player. He will also feature in the Indian squad for the T20I series against Australia and South Africa before the ICC event.

Several fans and pundits alike have questioned Rohit Sharma’s intent with some of them accusing the captain of being confused as they questioned why Umesh Yadav was preferred over Deepak Chahar despite the latter being picked up as a reserve player in the Asia Cup.

One of these experts was former India pacer Ashish Nehra who questioned why Umesh Yadav played ahead of Deepak Chahar if he was fit.

“Why is Umesh Yadav playing? You brought Shami and then you had Deepak Chahar. You said Bumrah wasn’t fit, I would also like to know why you didn’t play Deepak Chahar. There was a time when Chahar was the frontrunner to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar. If Deepak Chahar was fit to play and Umesh Yadav has played ahead of him, then confusion to zarror hai,” Nehra told Cricbuzz.

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