Reflecting on his World Cup omission, Yuzvendra Chahal acknowledged that while he feels a twinge of disappointment, he’s learned to accept it as a three-time occurrence, understanding the constraints.
Despite being in contention for the ODI World Cup, Yuzvendra Chahal found himself edged out in favor of Axar Patel during the Asia Cup, and when Patel got injured, Ravichandran Ashwin was drafted in, leaving Chahal on the sidelines.
Chahal, while expressing his disappointment, noted that such setbacks had occurred before and that he had grown accustomed to them. He acknowledged the necessity of selecting only 15 players for the team and, at 33, remains determined despite the setback.
“I understand that only fifteen players can be a part because it’s a World Cup, where you can’t take 17 or 18,” Chahal told Wisden India earlier this week. “I do feel a little bad, but my motto in life is to move on. I’m used to it now… it’s been three World Cups,” Chahal was quoted by Wisden.
Chahal has now taken proactive steps to maintain his fitness and cricketing rhythm by signing up for Kent in the ongoing County Championship. Expressing his desire to continue playing the sport, Chahal aims to keep his dream of representing India in red-ball cricket alive. He emphasized the importance of match experience over net practice and valued the opportunity to compete at the first-division level in County cricket, viewing it as a valuable learning experience.
“That’s why I came here (at Kent) to play because I want to play cricket somewhere, somehow. I’m getting a chance here with a red ball, and I seriously want to play red ball for India. So it was a good experience for me. I spoke to the coaches too, and they’re happy I’m playing somewhere, because you can practice as much in the nets, but match is match. I’m getting to play at a very good level here – first division, County – learning a lot here,” Chahal added.
With 72 ODIs under his belt, Chahal has notched an impressive tally of 121 wickets for the national team.
Last Updated on October 1, 2023
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