T20 World Cup 2024: Yuzvendra Chahal issues an official statement after India comeback

India leg-spinner Yuzvebdra Chahal has reacted for the first time since his comeback in the Indian team for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who is currently playing for the Rajasthan Royals in the 2024 IPL season, has been picked alongside Kuldeep Yadav as the only two wrist-spinners. Other than Chahal and Kuldeep, the chief selection committee handed selections to left-arm finger-spinning all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.

What did Yuzvendra Chahal say on his T20 World Cup 2024 selection?

While speaking to Murali Karthik last night ahead of Rajasthan's away clash against Hyderabad, Yuzvendra Chahal was all smiles when asked about his T20 WC selection. The leg-spinner has been picked in the Indian team for the first time since India's all-format tour of West Indies last year in June-July.

Yuzvendra Chahal's last game for the Indian team came on August 13, 2023, during the 5th of a 5-match T20I series in the West Indies. Since then, he has missed out on all of India's cricketing action including the ICC 50-over Cricket World Cup on home soil. Chahal was also left out of the Indian travelling squad which went for an all-format tour of South Africa after the CWC concluded.

And almost a year later, Yuzvendra Chahal is set to be a part of Team India's plan, this time on a bigger stage. It will be his second time being a part of the 15-man squad of the Men in Blue for a T20 World Cup. Chahal had been included in the squad for the previous T20 WC edition in 2022 but he did not play a single game in Australia.

But this time around, there are high hopes of him playing for India at the World Cup. When Murali Karthik asked him to react to his World Cup selection, Yuzvendra Chahal could not hide his delightment. He stated his selection in the Indian team as his biggest achievement, claiming that he plays domestic cricket and IPL just to get picked for the National team.

"For the World Cup. We play IPL, domestic cricket to get into the Indian team and that is my biggest achievement. I think I played there (West Indies) last July, but when I was out of the Indian team. I played domestic T20s and cricket keeps going on." - Chahal told Murali Karthik at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium ahead of SRH Vs RR.

Inside Chahal's performance in IPL 2024

One notable thing is that Yuzvendra Chahal saw off competition from Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who is currently the World's no. 6 T20I bowler. To be able to pip Bishnoi is itself a huge achievement but that didn't happen automatically as Chahal had to work hard for it during the course of IPL 2024.

The 33-year-old is far from his 2022 and 2023 IPL performances but he still going strong this season. From 10 matches for the Rajasthan Royals, Chahal has been able to amass 13 wickets at a slightly questionable economy rate of 9.68 with a best of 3/11.

He has been quite economical for the Royals except for last night at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium where he was smacked 62 runs from his 4 overs. His economy rate of nearly 16 was his worst this IPL season. Will he be able to justify his selection? Time will reveal.