T20 World Cup 2021: Virat Kohli explains decision for opting Chahar over Chahal

In
the
bygone
IPL
2021,
which
also
took
place
in
UAE,
Chahar
picked
up
13
wickets
from
11
games
for
Mumbai
Indians
but
was
benched
during
the
end
stage.

Chahal,
on
the
other
hand,
ended
the
season
with
18
wickets
in
15
games
and
was
the
second
highest
wicket-taker
for
RCB
team
behind
Harshal
Patel’s
32
scalps.

Although
Chahal
has
done
well
in
the
UAE
leg,
Kohli
gave
one
reason
which
pushed
Rajasthan’s
Chahar
over
the
Haryana
leggie
in
the
T20
World
Cup
squad.

“It
was
a
challenging
call
but
we
decided
to
back
Rahul
Chahar
for
a
reason
that
he
has
bowled
amazingly
well
in
the
last
couple
of
seasons
and
a
guy
who
bowls
with
pace,”
Kohli
said
at
the
ICC
captain’s
press
conference
ahead
of
the
T20
World
Cup.

T20
World
Cup
2021:
Barring
hype
over
ticket
sales
India
vs
Pakistan
is
just
another
game
for
us,
says
Kohli

The
skipper
also
said
that
Chahar’s
consistency
over
a
period
of
time,
especially
in
recent
series
against
Sri
Lanka
and
England,
were
taken
into
consideration
during
the
selection
meeting
for
picking
the
team.

“Rahul
did
really
well
in
Sri
Lanka
and
against
England
at
home
as
well.
He
was
someone
who
bowled
those
difficult
overs,”
he
said
and
then
explained
the
rationale.

Kohli
once
again
stressed
that
the
wickets
in
UAE
will
get
slower
as
the
tournament
progresses
and
he
believes
spinners
who
are
quick
off
the
surface
will
do
well.

“We
believe
getting
into
the
tournament,
wickets
will
be
getting
slower
and
slower.
Guys
who
bowl
with
a
lot
more
pace
as
you
saw
in
the
later
stages
of
the
tournament
as
well,
were
the
ones
who
were
able
to
trouble
the
batters
and
probably
not
give
the
ball
too
much
air.”

Kohli
also
said
that
Chahar’s
ability
to
bowl
quicker
and
attack
the
stumps
can
get
the
team
wickets,
but
admitted
that
dropping
a
proven
performer
like
Chahal
was
a
tough
call.

ICC
T20
World
Cup
2021:
Kohli
sees
Dhoni’s
presence
as
a
confidence
booster

“Rahul
has
those
strengths
naturally
as
a
leg
spinner
as
someone
who
attacks
the
stump,
areas
that
can
potentially
get
you
wickets
at
any
stage.
That’s
the
factor
that
tilted
the
balance
towards
Rahul,
but
not
taking
anything
away
from
Chahal,
and
this
was
a
tough
call.

“Picking
a
World
Cup
squad
is
always
like
you
have
only
a
number
of
spots
and
you
cant
put
in
everybody,”
he
was
categorical.

India
open
their
T20
World
Cup
2021
campaign
against
arch-rivals
Pakistan
on
October
24
at
the
Dubai
International
Cricket
Stadium
in
Dubai.

(With
PTI
inputs)