'He's never disappointed his captain Virat': MSK Prasad surprised to see 'India's best T20 bowler' missing from WC squad

In order to end their ICC title drought, the BCCI last month selected a strong Indian 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup starting later this month. The biggest takeaway from the squad was the spin-heavy bowling unit that was picked, with the return of R Ashwin to the limited-overs fold emerging as the biggest talking point. Calls were handed out to Varun Chakravarthy and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, while Shikhar Dhawan was a major omission.

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With the likes of Ashwin, Chahar and Chakravarthy included, the BCCI, surprisingly, left out the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal, a decision which former chief selector MSK Prasad found surprising. Having said that, the former India wicketkeeper saw the logic behind the decision, explaining what could have led to Chahar getting the nod over Chahal.

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"I think he is our best T20 bowler in terms of wickets. He has done superbly in the last 4-5 years. Fortunately, or unfortunately, what the selectors must have thought is the competition between Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal. On flat wickets like in Bangalore, he (Chahal) has never disappointed his captain Virat and he's always given you wickets," Prasad told Sports Tak.

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Furthermore, Prasad pointed out that Chahal's form in the last couple of years had seen a slump, while Chahar's stocks had risen, having picked up 13, 15 and 13 wickets respectively in the last three seasons of IPL while playing for Mumbai Indians. In 2020, Chahal played just 4 ODIs for India, picking up seven wickets and represented in 9 T20Is, where he took seven wickets.

"But if you see his performance in the last year, year and a half, there is a little dip in his performance. Rahul Chahar on the other hand has played an important role in winning back-to-back IPL titles for Mumbai Indians. Probably that went on Chahar's favour," Prasad added.