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Days before the resumption of IPL 2021 in UAE, Team India had announced their 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup. One thing that surprised many was the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal as the spinner is one of the best wicket-taking options for India. Nonetheless, the second half of IPL 2021 started and Chahal wasted no time in impressing with his abilities with the ball.
Given that the world event was going to take place in similar conditions at the same venues, inclusion of Chahal into the squad seemed almost certain. However, the BCCI decided to make only one change in the squad and it was Shardul Thakur who made it to main team at the expense of Axar Patel. Meanwhile, wrist spinners Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy defended their place in the Indian team.
I couldn’t have sulked for long: Yuzvendra Chahal
Opening up on his exclusion from the squad, Chahal revealed that he felt "really bad" and was upset for two to three days. He added that he couldn't have spent much time thinking about the ouster and so he put all his focus on the then resuming IPL 2021.
"I was not dropped in four years and then I got dropped for such a marquee event. I felt really bad. I was down for two-three days. But then I knew the second leg of the IPL was still around the corner. I went back to my coaches and spoke to them a lot. My wife and family were constantly encouraging me. My fans kept putting out motivational posts. That buoyed me. I decided to back my strengths and overcome my confusion. I couldn’t have sulked for long because that would have impacted my IPL form," Chahal told TOI in an interview.
Meanwhile, talking about Team India, the Chahal-less side suffered embarrassing 10-wicket loss to their arch-rivals Pakistan in their campaign opener at T20 World Cup 2021. They faced New Zealand next and lost the game by 8 wickets, making their ouster from the tournament almost certain. Though the Men in Blue won their remaining three games in the competition, the first two defeats eventually cost them the semi-final berth.