'The reason Rahul Chahar got picked in last T20 WC': After flop show, IND legend points area of concern for Chahal
In the two T20Is against the Proteas, Yuzvendra Chahal has bowled a total of 6.1 overs in which he has leaked 75 runs and has managed just one wicket.
India endured a tough outing against South Africa in the second T20I in Cuttack on Saturday, losing the contest by four wickets. The Men In Blue, who are missing the services of several senior pro, put up a shoddy effort in both the departments of the game as South Africa wrapped up the proceedings with 10 balls to spare.
Following the defeat, which has now put India 2-0 behind in the five-match series, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's ineffectiveness in both the T20Is was primarily in focus.
Chahal had won the Purple Cap in the latest edition of the Indian Premier League, which saw the 31-year-old leggie scalp 27 wickets from 17 encounters. However, in the two T20Is against the Proteas, Chahal has bowled a total of 6.1 overs in which he has leaked 75 runs and has managed just one wicket.
Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer while assessing Chahal's game on ESPNCricinfo noted that the spinner has failed to create a similar impact in international cricket as he does in the IPL. In fact, Jaffer believes this to be the reason behind Rahul Chahar getting an opportunity ahead of Chahal in the T20 World Cup last year.
“The kind of impact Yuzi has in IPL, he is not transferring that into the international games for sometime now. That's the reason Rahul Chahar got picked over him in the last T20 World Cup,” said Jaffer.
The former India Test opener also highlighted an area of concern for Chahal. “Especially bowling to the right handers his numbers doesn't justify a leg spinner should have. He bowls well to the left-handers so that is something he needs to work on,” he said.
However, Jaffer feels the management should stick with Chahal heading forward in the series but also picked Ravi Bishnoi's name to create more impact on the opposition batters.
“You need to stick with him, couple of bad games but he's a premium spinner. Ravi Bishnoi is the one you probably need to think, two leg spinners bowling to right-hander or the left-hander will probably have more impact. Axar Patel does play because he comes at number seven, he can bat a bit, but I think it's the wickets from the spinners that you need. Spinners are expensive and not picking up wicket, I think it's going to be a lot of problems and even the third seamer hasn't done much impact. Hardik Pandya went for runs,” noted Jaffer.