No better limited-over spinner currently in India than Chahal, his presence in team is necessary: Harbhajan

PTI, Aug 24, 2023, 11:31 AM IST

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Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh considers Yuzvendra Chahal as the best limited-over spinner in the country currently and said the selectors erred in not picking him for the Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30.

Chahal failed to make the India squad for the tournament as the selectors gave preference to Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel over him.

”The one thing I feel little bit lacking and wrong in the team is the absence of Yuzvendra Chahal. I thought his presence in this team (for Asia Cup) was necessary,” Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.

”Chahal is a leg-spinner who can get the ball to turn away. If you talk about genuine spinner, I don’t think there’s any spinner in India better than Chahal in limited over formats. ”Yes, his last few games weren’t good, but that doesn’t make him a bad bowler,” said the 43-year-old former off-spinner, who took 711 wickets in the three formats before retiring in 2016. The 33-year-old Chahal has been in and out of the national side in recent times, and Harbhajan is hoping that he would return to the team for the 50-over World Cup to be held in India in October-November.

”I hope the doors aren’t closed on him. It’s important to consider him for the World Cup because the tournament is in India. ”Chahal is a proven match-winner. I can understand his form isn’t good, so you may have rested him. But I think if he was with the team, his confidence would’ve stayed intact. Any player who comes back after being dropped, the pressure to perform is always there,” said Harbhajan.

Chahal had an average outing in the recent T20I series against the West Indies as he picked up just five wickets in as many matches, and leaked runs in the last three games.