Harbhajan questions India's selection at T20 World Cup; 'Chahar hasn't played single game'

Former Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh criticized Team India's selection for the T20 World Cup as he was baffled that the selectors chose Rahul Chahar over Yuzvendra Chahal. He provided his opinion after it was confirmed that the Men in Blue would not qualify for the semis once New Zealand defeated Afghanistan.

The 41-year old stated that Chahal was not selected despite his outstanding performance in the IPL, where he picked up 18 wickets from just 15 matches. Instead, India selected Chahar, who has not played in a single match until he was picked against Nambia in India's final T20 World Cup game.

Harbhajan Singh comments on India's selection at T20 World Cup

While speaking on air during Pakistan vs Scotland match, Harbhajan Singh took some time off to analyze Team India's selection at the T20 World Cup. "When they took Rahul Chahar over Yuzvendra Chahal for the T20 World Cup, they reasoned that he bowls quick which is why we selected him. Shortly after that, Chahal had a very good IPL outing. He took 15-16 wickets in the season (18 wickets in 15 matches). Meanwhile, Rahul Chahar hasn't played a single game in the World Cup yet."

Bhajji went on to add that he does not believe that 'Chahar is a better bowler than Chahal' as the Royal Challengers Bangalore spinner is a 'dangerous bowler' and has won several matches for India in the past. Lastly, Harbhajan questioned the selection of players including Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad despite dropping him previously. The right-arm spinner was dropped from the limited-overs side after India's 2017 Champions Trophy defeat in the final.

"And even when you selected Chahar, why didn't you play him? Ashwin played ahead of him after the first two games. I didn't understand that thought process. When Ashwin was dropped way back in 2017, you said we need wrist spinners. We brought Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, and they won us many games. Now suddenly, both Kuldeep and Chahal are absent, and we are back to Ashwin and Jadeja. I don't understand this," added the veteran Indian spinner. However, it is important to note that India has selected Rahul Chahar in their final Super 12 game against Namibia.

India's squad against Namibia: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah