Rahul Chahar will be wondering what went wrong, reflects Sunil Gavaskar on leg spinner’s exclusion from NZ T20Is

11/10/2021

After India announced their T20I squad for the home series against New Zealand, Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the selection committee for excluding Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy from the 16-member team. However, Gavaskar was pleased with the return of Yuzvendra Chahal to the national squad.

After the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup, India are scheduled to play three T20Is and two Tests against New Zealand at home. The BCCI on Tuesday announced a 16-member T20I squad, and have appointed Rohit Sharma as India’s new captain for the shortest format. Senior players Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami and Hardik Pandya have been rested for the series.

Varun Chakravarthy, Rahul Chahar and Shardul Thakur have been excluded too, despite being part of the T20 World Cup 2021. Notably, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar, who were travelling reserves for India at the marquee event, have been included.

Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the selection committee regarding the exclusion of Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy. The former India captain stated that the players can come back stronger only if they are informed the reason for their exclusion from the national squad.

"Rahul Chahar will be wondering what he has done that he is not in the 16 that have been announced for the New Zealand series. He was good enough to be in the World Cup squad, he got one opportunity, gave away 7 and a half runs an over. He will certainly be wondering what he did wrong. And I hope the selection committee will actually tell him what he did is the reason that he is out of the squad," Gavaskar told India Today.

"Even Varun Chakravarthy needs to be told why he was not picked in the squad. Unless of course, he is not fit which we don't know about, then he must be told. Only if somebody tells them the reason, they can go back and get better and then come back stronger. That will be the only way Indian cricket will get stronger."

However, Gavaskar was pleased with Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar's return the squad, which he feels will definitely benefit the team in the series.

"They (Yuzvendra Chahal and Deepak Chahar) have been proven performers, they have got the experience as well. Them coming back into the team will certainly benefit the team," said Gavaskar.

Mohammad Siraj too, found a place, after having missed out on the T20 World Cup selection.

The first of three T20Is will be played in Jaipur on November 17.