"There's nothing like getting old..." - Reason behind Yuzvendra Chahal's Sri Lanka tour snub explained by ex-India spinner

Former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju believes that Yuzvendra Chahal should be playing more and more matches. The former left-arm spinner feels that Chahal's lack of match practice and India's favor towards allrounders have cost him a place in India's T20I squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.

Chahal was a part of India's squad in the T20 World Cup 2024, which India won. However, the legspinner did not get a single game due to the presence of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel in the squad. India went with all the left-handed spinners which kept Chahal out of the Playing XI.

However, with Kuldeep out of the T20I squad for the tour of Sri Lanka, Chahal was likely to get picked. But in a surprising turn of events, the 34-year-old was dropped in favor of the young legspinner Ravi Bishnoi.

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Venkatapathy Raju reveals why Yuzvendra Chahal was not picked for Sri Lanka tour

During a conversation with the news agency IANS, Raju predicted the reason behind Yuzvendra Chahal's drop from the squad even without getting a single game.

Raju stated that India is looking for more all-rounders now which is why Chahal did not get a place in the Playing XI. He also advised Chahal to keep believing till his time comes.

"He (Yuzvendra Chahal) should be playing more matches, again and again. You should always believe in yourself. Chahal has been a brilliant bowler. But unfortunately, we look more into the all-rounders. That's why we had Jadeja, then we had Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. If Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are part of the team, you can't keep them away from the eleven," said Raju.

Raju also said that Chahal has not played enough matches recently which could be the reason behind his omission. He hoped the legspinner to perform in domestic cricket and make a comeback into the Indian team.

"Yuzi is a brilliant bowler but he missed out as he has not played enough matches. There is nothing like getting old or anything is far away from you. You can always play good matches, come back and perform. Now the biggest headache for all the selectors is that there is so much variety now," Raju said.

"In that variety to pick someone, it takes real guts and Chahal is a proven match winner. The only thing is little lack of match practice. Hopefully, he plays a lot of domestic cricket and comes back strong,” he added.

Venkatapathy Raju compares Ravi Bishnoi with Rashid Khan

The former India left-arm spinner also lauded Ravi Bishnoi and compared him with Afghanistan legend Rashid Khan. He reckoned that Bishnoi should be given more chances as he is in good form and is also an excellent fielder.

“When you're in form, you should be getting your chances. The spinners are very, very, very important players when it comes to white-ball cricket. We've seen Chahal for a long time, but unfortunately he doesn't find a place now. So that's why we have Bishnoi, who fields brilliantly. Then, him being young, it gives you that extra advantage on the field also," the 55-year-old said.

"When he bowls, it's a new variety, as he's a different bowler. He depends more on his googlies, which is in Rashid Khan mould. He's very high on his confidence now, and that also adds because when you talk about the next T20 World Cup coming, he should play as many matches as possible," Raju added.

Yuzvendra Chahal is the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is. The leg-spinner has picked up 96 wickets in 80 matches at an average of 25.09 and an economy rate of 8.19, with a best of 6-25.