India captain Virat Kohli admitted that leaving out senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal from the T20 World Cup squad was a “challenging call”. Mumbai Indians leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was preferred over the RCB leggie.

Chahal had suffered a dip in his form earlier this year while at the same Chahar shot through the ranks with impressive performances against England at home and then during the first half of the IPL 2021.

Chahar picked 15 wickets in MI’s title-winning campaign last season in the UAE and was amongst wickets in the India leg this season as well while Chahal struggled both with wickets and economy.

“It was a challenging call but we decided to back Rahul Chahar for a reason. He has bowled amazingly well over the last couple of years in the IPL. A guy who bowls with pace, he did really well in Sri Lanka and against England at home as well, he was someone who bowled those difficult overs,” Virat Kohli said on saturday during a Captain’s Call organised by the ICC ahead of the tournament.

Guys who bowl with pace will be able to trouble the batters: Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli asserted that Chahar is faster through the air than Chahal and the management believes that the former will be more effective on the slower pitches in the UAE than the latter.

“We believe going on in this tournament, the wickets are going to get slower and slower, so guys who bowl with pace will be able to trouble the batters as compared to those who give it air. Rahul definitely has those strengths naturally as a leg-spinner. He is someone who always attacks the wickets, that is the factor that tilted the thing in favour of him. Picking a World Cup is always tricky and you cannot always have everyone in that squad,” Kohli added.

However, things turned around for both the spinners when the IPL 2021 shifted to the UAE. Chahal returned to his best, picking at least one wicket in every game for RCB, while Chahar was dropped from MI’s eleven. The management, though, is backing Chahar in the upcoming tournament.

India take on Pakistan in their opening encounter on October 24 in Dubai. They will then meet New Zealand, Afghanistan, and two other teams who will qualify from Round 1 in the Super 12 stage.

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