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'They Gave Him A Lollypop,' Legendary Tweaker Baffled With Chahal's Omission From T20Is

image-lpmjl6edYuzvendra Chahal (X.com)

Yuzvendra Chahal earned a much-needed career-revival call-up on Thursday for the upcoming South Africa tour. While the wrist spinner made it to the ODI squad, his name was missing from the lineup selected for the shorter format series.

The dubious stand of the BCCI elected selection committee left former Indian spin legend Harbhajan Singh baffled. He deemed the leg-spinner's selection for the ODI series nothing but a consolation prize. 

Singh further explained that the selectors' thought process behind excluding Chahal from a format wherein he has achieved intense success in the past is beyond his understanding. 

"There is no Yuzvendra Chahal in T20 format. You kept him in ODIs but not T20Is. They just gave him a lollypop to suck on. We won't take in the format where you do well but will take for other formats. It's beyond my understanding," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.

Notably, Chahal suddenly disappeared from the Indian team's future plans a while ago, after last donning the national colors in August this year. Needless to say, the wrist spinner was hurt and expressed his resentment via cryptic social media posts.

Despite repetitive setbacks, Chahal continued his grind in the domestic white ball tournaments and also featured in English country cricket for a brief stint. In domestic tournaments combined, the leggie clipped 19 wickets in 10 games while posting a best of 6/26 against Uttarakhand and another four-wicket-haul of 4/8 against Mizoram.

Chahal's comeback to the national team couldn't come at a better time. The T20 World Cup is in a few months' time, and the wrist spinner has an opportunity to contest for a spot. 

His numbers in the shorter format are stellar, and with the right rhythm and economy, Chahal should be able to return to the T20 side. 

The India tour of South Africa comprises 2 tests, 3 ODIs and as many T20 games starting from 10th December 2023. The squads are locked, and the Indian contingent of 45 players is expected to depart next week.