Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing today’s 4th T20I between India and England in Ahmedabad?

Yuzvendra Chahal not playing: The tried and tested Indian spinner won’t be part of the Playing XI at the Narendra Modi Stadium tonight.

During the fourth T20I of the ongoing England’s tour of India in Ahmedabad, England captain Eoin Morgan has won the toss and chose to field for the third time in the five-match series.

Coming on the back of a comprehensive victory at the same venue on Tuesday, Morgan made public that the same Playing XI will take the field tonight.

“We are gonna have a bowl again. The side that has chased has won. Looks a really good wicket, looks a lot harder. The challenge of setting a total is depends on how you start. Earlier in the series, there was the dew factor. We never strive to become No. 1. We have a talented bunch outside the XI. No changes, same team,” Morgan told Star Sports at the toss.

Why is Yuzvendra Chahal not playing today’s 4th T20I vs England?

Speaking during the toss, India captain Virat Kohli sounded unperturbed about being asked to bat first yet again. According to Kohli, the surface on which this match will be played is expected to be the best of the series. Therefore, expect the Indian batsmen to not struggle while hitting big shots from the word go.

“Pretty happy, we were always willing to challenge ourselves. Our record hasn’t been too bad batting first. It’s tougher to set a total. This pitch looks the best in terms of hardness and evenness. Take pride in getting the job done,” Kohli told Star Sports during the toss.

India, who have been making a lot of surprising changes to their XI in this series, have made a couple of changes for this match as well as batsman Suryakumar Yadav and spinner Rahul Chahar have been included in place of Ishan Kishan and Yuzvendra Chahal.

“It doesn’t always have to be do-or-die situation for you to bring out your best. You need to be in the best frame of mind, that’s something we are looking to do tonight. One forced [change] and one to give Rahul Chahar a chance. [Yuzvendra] Chahal misses out,” Kohli said.

Chahal, who has picked three wickets in as many matches at an economy and strike rate of 9.91 and 24 respectively in the series, has been benched just to give a chance to Chahar. It is worth mentioning that Kohli hinted at Chahar also playing the final T20I as well during the toss.

Ballsy from India. Chahal rested in a must-win. Excited to see SKY again. #INDvENG

— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) March 18, 2021

Chahar, who represents Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, had made his T20I debut during India’s tour of West Indies in 2019. The 21-year old player didn’t get to play an international play after his debut match.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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