'Chahal would've definitely made lot more damage...': Karthik's huge statement on spinner's absence in India XI at T20WC
Dinesh Karthik spoke in detail about Yuzvendra Chahal's absence in India's XI at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Team India had a rather indifferent year in 2022; the side failed to reach the final of the Asia Cup and faced a 10-wicket loss in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup against England. Furthermore, India also faced a 1-2 ODI series defeat to Bangladesh in December. The side underwent a change in captaincy towards the end of the previous year in the limited-overs formats with Rohit Sharma taking over the reins, but the side's repeated failures in the global events haven't gone down well with the fans.
Furthermore, one of the decisions from the team management drew certain eyeballs from fans and former cricketers alike: its refusal to play Yuzvendra Chahal at the T20 World Cup. Chahal was a part of the squad but didn't feature in a single game for the side throughout the tournament, and India's veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the squad for the tournament as well, spoke about the same.
Karthik claimed that playing Chahal would've made “lot more damage,” but added that everyone now has the benefit of hindsight.
“These are all calls that are taken by the captain and coach with the belief they had in a certain player. To be fair, Ashwin started the tournament well but probably didn'y end well. But Chahal would've definitely made a lot more damage, it could've been an interesting choice. But hindsight is a very interesting thing to look at once the results come out,” said Karthik on Cricbuzz.
“All in all, if we look at the overall picture of the World Cup and Asia Cup, we expect a lot of better from Team India and that's the right way to put it,” said the India senior further.
Team India returns to action on January 3 when the side takes on Sri Lanka in the first of three T20Is, with Hardik Pandya leading the team. The top-3 senior players of the side – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul – will not feature in the T20I series.
