Former India cricketer turned famous commentator Aakash Chopra has expressed his surprise at Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur’s exclusion from India’s T20 World Cup squad. The BCCI has announced the 15-member Indian squad for the mega event where three seamers – Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami has been added.

On the other hand, Chahar and Thakur have been named on the reserves list for the tournament as well. While talking about that in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra shared his views.

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He said: “There is neither Shardul Thakur nor Deepak Chahar – these are two huge exclusions. I have a lot of love for Deepak Chahar but you can see logically. He is the world record holder. If you take any match of the IPL over the last two years, he has taken wickets. Despite that his name not being there, I am a little surprised.”

Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar makes into the Indian squad as standby players for T20 World Cup. #T20WorldCup #TeamIndia #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/Gj7YH1dJRi

— Whistle Podu Army ® – CSK Fan Club (@CSKFansOfficial) September 8, 2021

Deepak Chahar, however, has been in great form and he claimed 42 wickets over the last two-and-a-half seasons of the Indian Premier League. And, Aakash Chopra added that Shardul Thakur could have also been in the squad as he is also in form.

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“You could have picked Deepak Chahar ahead of Shami. You could have probably thought about Shardul as well because you wouldn’t have won the England T20 series if Shardul had not taken wickets. And his current form is rock-solid. But before him, I would still say Deepak Chahar. He has taken more wickets than Bhuvi with the new ball, even more than Bumrah. I am not saying that he is a better bowler than them but if you want to give someone the new ball, you will want to go with Deepak Chahar among the three,” Aakash Chopra concluded.