Ashish Ranjan
On Monday, August 21, BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar announced India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad. Several members of the 17-man squad, including KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, have returned to the team after recuperating from injuries. However, there was one surprising omission: Yuzvendra Chahal, a frequent member of the team for the past four years and a wrist spinner.
As a regular member of the squad for the past five years, Chahal’s exclusion came as a surprise to many. Following his rejection, the 33-year-old posted a cryptic social media message. Chahal sent a few emoticons containing a secret message.
The first emoji depicted the sun emerging from behind clouds, while the second depicted it fully rising with no clouds nearby.Similar to the 2018 tweet by India’s current captain, Rohit Sharma, it appears that the cricketer intended to imply that the sun will shortly rise again. Notably, Rohit tweeted the same message after being cut from the Test team.
Here’s how Chahal reacted:
During the IPL 2023 season, Yuzevndra Chahal was able to collect 21 wickets in 14 innings with an average of 20.57 and an economy of 8. His phenomenal performance propelled him to the top of the list of players with the most wickets in IPL history, with 187 to his credit.
Kuldeep currently leads Chahal by a small margin: Ajit Agarkar
Since 2021, the 33-year-old’s average with the ball in ODIs has been just over 26, and he has taken 29 wickets in 18 matches. In contrast, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were given opportunities before him. The same was stated by Chief Selector Agarkar at the press conference.
Also See | India’s squad for Asia Cup 2023. Check Big talking point in selection
“Axar Patel has performed admirably. He can also play. Kuldeep Yadav has had a tremendous run thus far. Thus, someone had to be left out. Kuldeep is slightly ahead of him (Chahal) at the moment,” Agarkar stated in the press conference.
