T20 World Cup 2021: Yuzvendra Chahal can still be part of India’s squad, feels Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh also advised Yuzvendra Chahal to not bowl too slow which was one of the reasons for the spinner’s exclusion from the squad.

RCB leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. (Source: Twitter)

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Tuesday (October 5) said he is still hoping to see Yuzvendra Chahal in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Chahal wasn’t included in India’s T20 World Cup squad when national selectors last month picked the players for the upcoming showpiece event to be hosted in UAE and Oman.

Harbhajan also advised Chahal to not bowl too slow which was one of the reasons for the spinner’s exclusion from the squad. “You have given ur best as always.. keep it up.. and make sure u keep bowling the right pace. Not too slow OK..still hoping to see you in team India for T20 World Cup. Champion bowler,” Harbhajan tweeted for Chahal.

You have given ur best as always.. keep it up.. and make sure u keep bowling the right pace .. Not too slow OK..still hoping to see you in team India for T20 World Cup.. Champion bowler https://t.co/ZOhxlNsmhv

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 5, 2021

Chahal will be in action on Wednesday (October 6) as Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL 2021 match in Abu Dhabi. The RCB leg-spinner has managed to pick up 14 wickets in 12 matches so far at an average of 21.21 and an impressive economy rate of 7.24.

Meanwhile, former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels the selectors shouldn’t make any change in the T20 World Cup squad despite some players going through a lean patch ahead of the showpiece event in UAE.

“In my opinion, once you have picked the squad for World Cup – barring injury – I don’t think you should make any changes. Yes, there are guys at the moment who are not in their great form, but it only takes one innings – whether it’s bowling or batting – to change that form around, and that could still happen before the end of the IPL,” Agarkar said on Star Sports show Cricket Connected.

The former India all-rounder wants the selector to stick with the squad as only one inning (in IPL 2021) is needed for a player to regain the form. “So, if you think that’s the best 15 you’ve picked going to the World Cup, my personal opinion, I would stick with it, because you got to show faith in people even when things are not looking so good, because things can turn around very quickly,” said Agarkar.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan.Stand-byes: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.

(with ANI inputs)