Veteran India player Dinesh Karthik has recently opened up on the inclusion of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the Indian Team. He also believes that Chahal will be in the Rohit Sharma-led India team for the 2022 T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in Australia next October.
However, Chahal was recently in action during India’s third T20I against New Zealand in the series where he did quite well. His last appearance for the team came against Sri Lanka earlier this year as he was eventually dropped from the T20 World Cup squad. During a conversation with Cricbuzz, Karthik shared that the veteran leg-spinner has improved as a bowler and how being a chess player has also helped him to do well with the ball.
“Great to see him come back. And he showed his character. The way he bowled in the second leg of IPL, he was an absolute champion. He is the top leg-spinner in India. I always rate him very high because he is also a chess player and they are always a couple of moves ahead than normal people. And that is always a special attribute for me. He’s got good skills, good variations and is a brave bowler and he has single-handedly grown in stature in IPL. He was bought for INR 10 lakhs by RCB in 2013, and now he is beyond what it is and that shows he has improved over time and has shown his value. I’m sure he will be retained by the franchise,” he said.
“He is also a very good bowler abroad as well, a very important attribute to keep in mind when India travel to Australia for the next T20 World Cup. I am sure he will be on that flight to Australia. And I also know Rohit trusts him a lot. Their relationship is not just strong off the field, on the field they have some good conversations,” further added Karthik.
However, Yuzvendra Chahal had a poor season in India in the IPL 2021 where he could manage to pick up only four wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 8.26. Because of this, he failed to get a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad. And, Chahar, who picked up 11 wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 7.21 was picked as well. However, Chahal returned with a bang in the second leg of the event, scalping 14 wickets in eight matches at an economy rate of 7.06 as well.
