Yuzvendra Chahal called ‘poor guy’ as Aakash Chopra urges Gautam Gambhir to recall leg-spinner

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra talked about the possibility of Yuzvendra Chahal playing for the Indian team again. The cricketer-turned-commentator batted for the inclusion of a leg-spinner in the team, saying that the poor guy had done nothing wrong.

Yuzvendra Chahal has almost disappeared from the Indian team setup. After the 2017 Champions Trophy, the leg-spinner along with Kuldeep Yadav replaced Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the team. They became the backbone of the team within no time because of their sensational performances.

Yuzvendra Chahal along with Kuldeep Yadav became the main reason behind India's success in the white-ball format. Known as "Kulcha", they wreaked havoc accessing the batting lineup of various oppositions and took the team to great heights, helping them win some of the major games.

Yuzvendra Chahal was even part of the 2019 World Cup and after that, he was the first-choice spinner in the team. But since 2021, his performances started dipping and he was left out of the team. The leg-spinner since then has been in and out of the team and isn't getting the consistent run.

Chahal was part of the Indian Team for the T20 World Cup 2024 but he didn't play a single game in the tournament. However, after that, he was even dropped from the team. He wasn't named in the Indian team for the white-ball tour even and there's no clarity if he will feature again or not.

Aakash Chopra urged team management to play Yuzvendra Chahal as according to him the leg-spinner hasn't done anything wrong. He stressed that the spinner has all the skills but is not getting the backing. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:

"Personally, if you ask me, I would say play him, please. What is the problem? Earlier, when the World Cup used to start, you used to kick them out. He used to play for India all the time. After that, he used to get dropped just ahead of the World Cup.

"If he gets picked for the World Cup, then he doesn't get a chance to play there. This time, he got picked in the World Cup, but then they got dropped. Poor guy has done nothing wrong. In my opinion, he has that skill."

I feel he is very good - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal further said that India is struggling to get wickets in the middle overs and the leg-spinner has the skill to do that. He stated that both he and Kuldeep Yadav should play as Chahal is a very good player. He elaborated:

"And skill is needed. We have also seen this in Sri Lanka. When middle overs come, you need wicket-taking ability. Otherwise, if the start is good, you get 3-4-5 wickets. If the opposing team decides that we don't want to play bad shots, we don't want to lose a wicket, then how will you take a wicket?

"Then you need a bit more skill. And that skill, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzi Chahal have a bit more skill compared to the finger spinners. So, I am going with Yuzi Chahal. Don't close the door on him. Please keep them together. And play them. He is good. I feel he is very good," he concluded.