Decoding Yuzvendra Chahal's recent decline following Asia Cup snub
BCCI has announced Team India's squad for the 2023 Asia Cup, starting on August 30. Yuzvendra Chahal is unarguably the biggest absentee as he even failed to make the cut to the extended 17-member squad. Hence, the leg-spinner is unlikely to be picked in India's 15-member party for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in October-November in India. Here we decode his recent decline.
Who are the spinners in the squad?
Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav is the only specialist spinner in India's Asia Cup squad. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the other spin-bowling options. Notably, the event will be played in Sri Lanka, where tracks are known to favor spinners. Hence, many expected India to name at least four spinners in the squad. The team, however, has instead gone with six pace-bowling options.
Just two ODI appearances in 2023
Chahal, who was India's lead spinner in white-ball cricket a couple of years ago, suddenly finds himself out of the scheme of things. Notably, he has played just two of India's 12 ODIs in 2023, returning with three wickets. The leggie was sensational in the format last year, claiming 21 wickets in 14 games with the help of three four-wicket hauls (ER: 5.48).
Kuldeep's rise, Chahal's decline
Not long ago, Kuldeep and Chahal were a formidable force as a pair in the middle overs. However, due to several all-round options, India can accommodate just one of the two in their current ODI XI. Kuldeep has been sensational lately, claiming 34 wickets in 19 ODIs since 2022 (ER: 4.91). He has also displaced Chahal as India's lead spinner in the T20I format.
Has Chahal really been out of form?
Meanwhile, Chahal has not really been out of form. In 30 T20Is since 2022, he has returned with 32 wickets at a decent economy rate of 8.01. Moreover, he was the highest wicket-taker of the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) with 27 wickets in 17 games, conceding runs at 7.75. He returned with 21 wickets in 14 games in the following year (ER: 8.17).
Here are his overall ODI numbers
Chahal has bagged 121 scalps across 72 ODI appearances. He averages a laud-worthy 27.13 and has maintained an economy of 5.27. Notably, the leggie has five four-wicket hauls and two five-wicket hauls in this format. Chahal's best figures read 6/42, which he claimed against Australia in the third and final ODI at MCG in 2019.
