Yuzvendra Chahal's Snub From Indian Cricket Team Squad for Australia ODIs Beyond Harbhajan Singh
Published - 19 Sep 2023, 04:47 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:19 AM
Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh expressed his surprise at veteran leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s exclusion from India for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. Harbhajan Singh highlighted that Yuzvendra Chahal deserved to be part of the squad in the absence of senior players.
Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar announced two separate squads for the three-match ODI series. Senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav have been rested for the first two games. Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin have been recalled to the team.
Yuzvendra Chahal Should Have Been There – Harbhajan Singh
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh opened up about Yuzvendra Chahal‘s exclusion despite Kuldeep Yadav’s absence, suggesting that there might be non-cricketing reasons behind the selection.
“Yuzvendra Chahal should have been here. He has not been given an opportunity. It is beyond my understanding. Either he has fought with someone or he has said something to someone, I don’t know,” Harbhajan Singh said.
“If we talk only about skill, his name should have been there in this team because a lot of Team India players are resting,” he added.
India will host Australia in the match series as part of their preparations for the ODI World Cup 2023. The first match is set to be played in Mohali on Friday, September 22. The remaining games will be played in Indore and Rajkot on September 24 and 27, respectively.
India Have To Continue The Winning Habit – Harbhajan Singh
The cricketer-turned-commentator emphasized the importance of India maintaining their winning momentum from the Asia Cup. Singh acknowledged that the team might be slightly weaker for the first two matches.
“Team India have to continue the winning habit they developed in the Asia Cup. They have the ability to beat Australia as well. The team is slightly weak for the first two matches but I believe this slightly weak team can also come out on top against them.”
“Australia were playing against South Africa and India were playing against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup. Australia are a different team. You will have to be at your best to beat Australia because they have decent batting till No. 7 or No. 8 and they have solid hitters.”
India squad for first two ODIs: KL Rahul (c & wk), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar.
India squad for 3rd ODI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Hardik Pandya, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin.
