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Cricket Players'Was feeling strange because Virat Kohli was captain there as well': Chahal's 'saddest moment' of T20 World Cup snub
Yuzvendra Chahal was not included in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, in which the team crashed out in the Super 12 stage.
Virat Kohli's tenure as India's T20 captain ended with the team crashing out in their first stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Kohli had said before the start of the tournament that this would be his last as captain of the team in the shortest format. India's fate was more or less sealed after they lost by 10 wickets to Pakistan in the first match and by nine wickets to New Zealand in the second.
Among the selection calls that were criticised was the exclusion of spinner Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad. The tournament was held in the UAE and Chahal had incidentally been in good form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that year, which was also held in the country just a month before the T20 World Cup. Chahal has now admitted that he was the saddest when he was not picked for the tournament.
"When I was not picked up for the 2021 T20 World Cup, I felt the saddest. I had to play IPL in Dubai at that time. She (wife) was with me that time. Next day, we had to catch a flight for Dubai," said Chahal on a a podcast by YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia.
"We had to go there to continue the IPL matches that were postponed due to Covid. We also had to quarantine for a week. Otherwise, you could have gone out to relax. Best thing was she was with me, so I could control my anger. If she would not have been there, I would have been more frustrated," he said.
Kohli was captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the time as well, the team that Chahal used to play for. "She (Chahal's wife) was with me. We used to exercise together. We watched some chilled out movies. I was feeling strange because Virat [Kohli] was the captain [of the Indian team] and I was playing under Virat there as well [in IPL]. But I never ask anyone why I was not picked. Have never asked," he continued.
While Chahal's white-ball form had dipped earlier this year, the spinner had done well in IPL 2020 in the UAE. He did not have a good start to the IPL 2021 season but the seasoned leg-spinner shone for RCB in the UAE leg of the tournament. Kohli had said dropping Chahal and choosing young Rahul Chahar in the rule was a tough call. "It was a difficult and challenging call. We decided to back Rahul Chahar for a reason, he is a guy who bowls with pace. Bowled well in Sri Lanka and in England also he was good. The wickets in UAE will be slow and the guys who bowl with some pace, attack with stumps and that is the factor that tipped the balance in favour of Rahul," he had said.
'Took my anger out on the pitch'
Chahal ended up taking 18 wickets in the 15 games that he played in the IPL that season. He said that he was able to deal with the disappointment that came from the drop and concentrate on giving his best for RCB due to his wife. "She made me realize that what's happened has happened, but my team (RCB) needs me for the seven matches that are remaining. Just prove yourself. She told me to remove all my anger on the ground – in the sense that just go and perform. I realized she is right. Then, I took out my anger and frustration on the ground. But yeah, that was the saddest phase," he said.
