Mumbai: A day after leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not included in India's 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, his wife and choreographer Dhanashree Verma posted a message about the same.
Chahal has been India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is with 63 wickets in 49 matches at an average of 25.30 and an economy rate of 8.32.
But on Wednesday, his name was not there in the squad for the showpiece event. India picked five spin options in Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Rahul Chahar. After the announcement, fans have been left surprised by Chahal's exclusion.
Through her stories on Instagram, Dhanashree wrote, "Maa Kehti hai ki ye Waqt bhee guzar jana hai. Sar Utha ke jiyo kyuiki Hunar aur ache karm hamesha sath dete hai. Toh ji baat aisi hai ki yeh waqt bhi Guzar jaana hai. God is always great."
The words translate as "Mother says that this phase too shall pass. Live with your head held high as talent and good deeds are always going along. The thing is that this phase too shall pass."
When asked over the rationale to exclude Chahal, former India pacer and chairman of selection panel Chetan Sharma said they needed a spinner who is quicker and finds grip off the surface, which got Chahar the nod ahead of Chahal.
"You want a spinner who can deliver with more speed. Recently we have seen Rahul Chahar bowling with speed. The selectors' view was we need a spinner who can find the grip off the surface on the wickets and deliver with slightly more speed. While we had a lot of discussion on Chahal, we eventually went with Rahul Chahar."
Chahal will now be seen in action for the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE.
