Yuzvendra Chahal finds himself excluded from India’s second-string T20I squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, commencing on November 23rd in Visakhapatnam. Ravi Bishnoi, the leg-spinner, has been chosen over Chahal as India gears up for T20 World Cup 2024 preparations following a disheartening loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup final.
Despite being India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, with 96 wickets from 80 matches and an economy rate of 8.19 runs per over, Chahal’s less impressive record against Australia may have contributed to his omission.
In response, Chahal, known for his witty social media posts, opted for silence, posting only a smiley on his X account. Despite an impressive performance in IPL 2023 for Rajasthan Royals, claiming 21 wickets in 14 matches, Chahal’s absence from India’s ODI World Cup squad earlier this year led him to play County cricket for Kent in England.
😊
— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) November 20, 2023
The T20I squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya, features spin-bowling all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Ruturaj Gaikwad, captain during India’s Asian Games 2023 triumph, will be vice-captain for the first three games, with Shreyas Iyer taking over for the last two T20Is after a workload management break. Notable exclusions from the squad include Deepak Chahar and Sanju Samson.
India squad for Australia T20I series
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (for last two T20Is)
