Yuzvendra Chahal reacts with a smile after being snubbed from T20I series against Australia

Despite performing well for India, Yuzvendra Chahal failed to make it to the squad for the ODI World Cup 2023. Soon after the conclusion of the tournament, the selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, and Chahal yet again failed to make it to the 15-men squad. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Ravi Bishnoi made it from the spin department, while Chahal will have to wait for his opportunity.

Notably, Chahal is the leading wicket-taker for India in the shortest format of the game. The 33-year-old has 96 wickets in 80 T20Is and has proved to be a runaway match-winner. He was also in good form for Haryana in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, picking up nine wickets in his last four matches. However, the BCCI selectors backed the players who have done well for the national team in the Asian Games.

Meanwhile, his exclusion from the T20I squad didn’t sit well with the spinner. He didn’t say much and reacted with a smile on X (formerly Twitter) after BCCI announced the squad for the T20I series, which is slated to begin on November 23 in Visakhapatnam.

On the other hand, a lot of senior cricketers have been rested for the series. Skipper Rohit Sharma along with Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and a few others have been given rest ahead of a full-fledged series against South Africa away from home. In the absence of Rohit from the T20I squad, Hardik Pandya was leading the team, but the all-rounder is still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered during the ODI World Cup and hence, he is not part of the squad.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team in his absence, while Shreyas Iyer will be the vice-captain once he joins for the final two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru. Meanwhile, VVS Laxman is expected to be the head coach for the series.