India leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has opened up for the first time after getting ICC T20 World Cup 2021 snub. In an exclusive chat with Times of India, the 31-year-old admitted that he felt bad for a day or two as he was among the regulars in the side. Suddenly, getting dropped was hard to take.
“I was not dropped in four years and then I got dropped for such a marquee event. I felt really bad. I was down for two-three days. But then I knew the second leg of the IPL was still around the corner. I went back to my coaches and spoke to them a lot.”
Chahal’s exclusion created a furore with many fans and pundits questioning the selectors for the drastic move. In the end, Chahal’s replacement Rahul Chahar didn’t live upto the billing. Back then this is what Chetan Sharma, chief selector, had explained that they wanted spinners who could bowl fast and therefore drafted the likes of Varun Chakrawarthy and Chahar in the 15-man squad. Meanwhile he said that his loved one were by his side and supported him, adding that he couldn’t afford to sulk with the second leg of IPL in the offing.
“My wife and family were constantly encouraging me. My fans kept putting out motivational posts. That buoyed me. I decided to back my strengths and overcome my confusion. I couldn’t have sulked for long because that would have impacted my IPL form.”
Chahal is all set to return in the national colours when India take on New Zealand in the first of the three match T20I series set to begin in Jaipur on November 17. It will be fresh opportunity for the whole team to regroup under a new skipper—Rohit Sharma—and begin the build up to 2022 ICC T20 World Cup which takes place in eleven months’ time in Australia.
