ICC Champions Trophy 2025: 'Yuzvendra Chahal has been totally finished' - Aakash Chopra

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra talked about the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He pointed out that despite the good performances, the leg-spinner has been sidelined from the Indian team.

India National Cricket Team spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been completely sidelined from the team and it's fair to say that his comeback seems far from away now. From being one of the biggest match-winners to nowhere near the scenes, he has witnessed a great downfall.

Yuzvendra Chahal has played has picked 121 wickets at an average of 27.13 in 69 ODIs

Yuzvendra Chahal, who played a vital role for India in the ICC World Cup 2019, hasn't played a single ODI for the team since January 2023. He wasn't even part of the team for the ICC World Cup 2023 and now hasn't been named in the team for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Yuzvendra Chahal has a great record in the ODIs. The leg-spinner has picked 121 wickets at an average of 27.13 in 69 ODI innings. In the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India has picked four spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar.

His file has been closed - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal

But Aakash Chopra said that picking Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad would have been a regressive step because he has been out of the setup for a long. He, however, was amazed by the way the leg-spinner has been sidelined despite having a good record. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he said:

"An interesting case is Yuzi Chahal's. He last played in January 2023. So it's been two years for him. It's interesting because Bhuvi would have been expensive and wouldn't have got wickets in the last 10 matches before he was dropped, but Yuzi Chahal's numbers are also very good. He has picked up a lot of wickets and was consistently doing well."

"However, he has been totally finished. His file has been closed. I have no idea why they did that. Having said that, because it's been two years since it's been closed, there is no place for Yuzi also here because as soon as you suddenly pick him out of the blue, it will be seen as a regressive step."

If someone is not in the ODI setup for three years, how can he come? - Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Aakash Chopra also opined that Bhuvneshwar Kumar couldn't have been picked as he hasn't played the format since 2022. He stressed that three years is a long gap and getting him back to the team would've been a backward step. He added:

"The last ODI Bhuvneshwar Kumar played was in January 2022. He has not played ODI cricket since then. If someone is not in the ODI setup for three years, how can he come? Three years is a long time.

"If he has not been a part of the team for three years, you guys only would have abused the selectors if they had kept him in the team. Then it would have been seen as a regressive step as to what happened to your other fast bowlers for you to go back to Bhuvi. So there was no place for Bhuvi here."

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