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The emoticon of the sun rising and the brief declaration that his old version was back during a Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) net session is all that Yuzvendra Chahal had in reply following his surprise omission from India's 2021 T20 World Cup squad. But there is no way to potentially quantify the seething bewilderment behind his absence from the global event.
They say there is no substitution to experience, but apparently in the eyes of the Indian selectors, it is a few extra kilometers per hour. Five spinners, out of which two constitute as specialist spinners, were selected, with Chahal being a noticeable absentee. Rahul Chahar's ability to bowl quicker into the surface and get some grip along with Varun Chakravarthy's mystery outweighed Chahal's valuable experience.
Chahal was unfortunately not considered despite his impeccable record in the UAE. He accounted for 21 wickets in the 2020 edition of the IPL, his best ever tally in an IPL season. The leg-spinner surprisingly struggled to pick up wickets in IPL 2021's first leg in India, which did not help his case during selection. He, however, seems to have found his mojo back fueled by a desire to prove the decision makers wrong.
A tight spell against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Sharjah was followed up with a breath-taking display in a crunch fixture against Mumbai Indians (MI). Much like arithmatic progression, the promising outings have eventually led him to a man-of-the-match display against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
The T20 World Cup 2021 India schedule is listed here.
Will the selectors consider Chahal after the UAE pitches make a huge U-turn?
All said and done, it is safe to think that the selectors chose the T20 World Cup squad, keeping the pitches from the previous IPL as a template. But the surfaces this time around have been bleak in comparison with slowness being at the fore. This has led to difficulty batting in the middle overs with cutters and spin bowling dominating the proceedings.
Assuming Jadeja is a sure starter for the team and that India might field two spinners, the real squabble has come down to Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal since Varun Chakravarthy has been making his case on the sidelines so far.
While both players are genuine leg-spinners with a mean stock delivery and a wicked googly, they each have their own strengths and qualities. Chahal is known for his ability to flight the ball and giving it a real turn, which is an asset on slow wickets. Chahar, on the other hand, is not a huge turner of the ball and cramps the batsman on the crease with minimal room and some grip off the surface.
At the time of selection, Chahar might have been the ideal choice, but given the way the pitches have behaved so far and assuming that this might be the trend in the upcoming T20 World Cup as well, there only seems to be one clear winner out of the two.
Granted, Chahar himself has done well so far in the second leg and in the previous edition for the IPL, but why should one of the tournament favorites settle for good when they have something tailor-made for an occasion like this?
Does the pace of a spinner hold relevance on slow wickets?
The pace of a spinner determines its trajectory and while that often outfoxes the batsmen, it is the surface that often dictates the tweaker to bowl at a certain pace.
If the pitches are indeed slow, and given the larger boundary lengths in venues like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the bowler would be inclined to bowl a bit slower and make the batsmen work hard for his runs and even claim his wicket in the process.
India, who are vulnerable when it comes to crunch ICC tournament fixtures, need experience just as much as they need skill to clear the hurdles. It might not have been fair on the selectors' part to trade the experience over a rather baseless reason. Yes, pace matters, but perhaps not at the expense of experience and quality.
In that case, the selectors ploy to back Chahar and his extra pace could potentially backfire. And while he can adapt and bowl slower through the air, would it be as proficient as Chahal, who has been executing the same at the highest level for a significant period of time?
