India vs South Africa: Chief selector MSK Prasad explains why Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal have not been picked in T20I squad
India chief selector MSK Prasad on Tuesday gave explanation for sitting out Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in South Africa T20Is.
cricket Updated: Sep 10, 2019 13:19 IST
When India announced the squad for the South Africa T20Is, there were a few surprising omissions. Instead of India’s preferred spin duo in limited overs, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar was included in the T20Is squad along with Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya. With the T20I World Cup set to take place next year, there were questions whether Chahal and Kuldeep are facing competition to get a spot in the shortest format.
But clearing air on the same, India chief selector MSK Prasad on Tuesday said the spinning duo are very much a part of India’s T20I plans in the future.
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“In order to bring variety in the spin bowling department, we have been trying youngsters keeping in view of the T20 World Cup in Australia. Chahal and Kuldeep have been outstanding performers in the shorter formats in the last two years. They are definitely ahead in the race now. It’s just that we are trying few other options now,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.
Prasad further went on to praise the rise of several youngsters in the shorter formats, including fast bowler Navdeep Saini. “In shorter formats, we have seen Shreyas Iyer emerging as a matured batsman who can play to the situations and demands of the team and deliver accordingly. Similarly, we have seen (Navdeep) Saini, Krunal (Pandya), Washington (Sundar) progressing well in shorter formats,” he said.
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Prasad further went on to compliment middle-order batsamn Hanuma Vihari for his performance in the Test series against West Indies. “In the longer format we have seen solid performances from young Vihari. He was clearly the stand out performer in this series apart from Bumrah, who was outstanding with the ball. I am also very happy with the form of Ajinkya Rahane because he is very crucial for the success of Indian team in this format,” he said.
India will play three T20Is against South Africa starting september 15, after which the two teams will play three Tests.
First Published: Sep 10, 2019 13:18 IST
