‘India had enough chances to give him game time’ - Nikhil Chopra opens up on Yuzvendra Chahal's absence in T20 World Cup 2022

England have officially cemented their spot in the finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 following their massive win against India in the semi-final fixture. The track at the Adelaide Oval had some help for the spinners but India went ahead with R Ashwin and Axar Patel over leg-spinner Chahal. 

Notably, England's leg-spinner Adil Rashid had a successful outing with the ball as he not only managed to scalp the important wicket of Suryakumar Yadav but was also economical, giving away mere 20 runs in his four overs. Meanwhile, former India international Nikhil Chopra has opined that Chahal could have played a vital role for the team in Adelaide. He further said that India should have given Chahal a chance earlier in the tournament instead of keeping him on the sidelines. 

“See, India could have played Yuzvendra Chahal in some matches in the Super 12 stage. That would have given him a feel of the matches. He would have been mentally ready to play the semi-final clash, he is a clever bowler. But, with the conditions, in between 50,000-60,000 people in the crowd when you bowl, you build that confidence and India could have played him against Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, or even Bangladesh. They had enough chances to give game-time to him,” said Nikhil on 'BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti' on CricTracker.

India needed a spinner like Chahal: Nikhil Chopra

After the economic figures displayed by Adil Rashid for England, the missing piece in India’s playing XI seemed to be Chahal. Chopra further stated the manner by which Rashid’s ball kept turning, India could have done a lot with the services of Chahal.

“Indian management would have figured out how he (Chahal) fairs in these matches and you would have had an extra spinner today. However, I am not saying that India lost today because of his exclusion from the side but certainly he would have added a lot as Adil Rashid’s ball was turning a lot, I felt India need a spinner like Chahal,” added Chopra.