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'I believe he is slightly ahead': Irfan picks between Bhuvneshwar, Chahar for place in T20 WC; 'He has improved a lot'
The former Indian bowler picked one between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar for a place in the T20 World Cup squad.
Team India's limited-overs season at home ended in style, with the side registering an emphatic 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka. India's new era under Rohit Sharma's full-time captaincy is yet to witness a defeat in T20Is, with the Rohit-led side registering clean-sweep wins against New Zealand (November 2021) and the West Indies (February 2022) as well. In addition, the side is currently ranked no.1 in the shortest format.
The three T20I series also saw India testing their bench strength as a number of senior players were either rested or injured; while Virat Kohli took part only in Windies T20Is, Bumrah skipped the series against New Zealand and the West Indies. Rishabh Pant, too, was rested for the series against Sri Lanka. This allowed the team management to play youngsters in various roles; however, one of the positions in the bowling department sees a competition brewing between two seasoned pacers.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar have been first-team regulars in Indian T20I side for a few years. In the series against West Indies earlier this month, both played together in the XI twice; however, it is unlikely that they will feature in the same lineup during the T20 World Cup due to both players possessing a similar skillset. As such, if an XI for a World Cup game were to be selected today, one of the two might have to endure being benched.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan believes that Bhuvneshwar Kumar could be the one to miss out, based on current performances.
“On the basis of their recent performances, I believe Deepak Chahar is slightly ahead. Yes, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been doing well in the past few games, but when it comes to batting, Chahar has improved a lot. On the basis of that, I think he is ahead of Bhuvi,” said Pathan on Star Sports.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also believes that both players cannot be in the squad, let alone the XI in the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Australia in October-November later this year.
“You would like to keep only one of Deepak Chahar and Bhuvi because both bring a similar kind of skillset. One of them is guaranteed to be there in the 15-member squad,” said Aakash.
