Imran Tahir displeased with Indian team selectors over exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal from Team India squad for 2021 T20 World Cup
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Discussions, suggestions, and debates are all that the fans of a particular team can come up with as they try to make sense and come in terms with the heavy drubbing their team have been handed on the field.
Team India have been handed defeats- one-sided ones-not once, but twice in as many matches against Pakistan and then versus New Zealand. Some fans are livid, some wish to cut some slack for the individuals playing the tough sport. But, it always makes sense to analyse what went wrong and what could have done better. But, all of them of course in good spirit sans abuses.
Veteran South African leg spinner Imran Tahir too has tried to make sense of the two straight defeats that are staring India right now at their face. He wishes that India’s premier leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal should have made it through to the Indian squad for the ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE.
Surprised at the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from Team India
Imran Tahir expressed his surprise at the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from the Team India squad in the T20 World Cup, saying that he is a “wonderful bowler” and that it is unfortunate that he wasn’t picked.
Chahal was a regular feature for Team India in white ball Cricket until a year ago, but some inconsistent performances before the ongoing T20 World Cup meant that it was another leg-spinner Rahul Chahar who made the cut ahead of him.
“He is a wonderful bowler. I personally wanted to see him playing in the T20 World Cup. But unfortunately he didn’t get picked,” Tahir said in a virtual media interaction arranged by Abu Dhabi T10 League.
“All the leg-spinners have got different variations. It’s not just about googly and legbreak. Top-spinner, flipper, slider (are there). Leg spinners are playing a big role. Batsmen now can’t play like they used to play 10 years ago. Credit goes to all the spinners and the field planning.”, Tahir further added.
“Leg-spinner can quickly change the game by taking 2-3 quick wickets”- Imran Tahir
Despite preferring Rahul Chahar over Chahal, the former has not got a game to feature in against the top two sides in their group. Leg spinners are a sure shot wicket-taking option especially in the shorter format of the game, albeit with a tendency to leak runs. But, that is a risk worth taking. Tahir reiterated the same being a leg spinner himself.
“As a leg-spinner playing in the past for South Africa and in the league cricket, I believe a leg-spinner can quickly change the game by taking 2-3 quick wickets.
“I’ve witnessed that in one of the games when the team were 96 chasing 160. Our spinners, including myself, took a few wickets and we won the game,” Tahir said.
On Sunday as well, the Kiwi leg-spinner Ish Sodhi who already boasts of a great record against India in the past, took the prized wickets of Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and ended up with figures of 4-0-17-2.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Adil Rashid (England), and Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) are the other three leg spinners of their respective teams who’ve played a crucial role in their team’s success so far in the World Cup.
