Out of favour leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is set to feature for Haryana in the forthcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy following his non-selection in the Indian team for the five-match T20I series against Australia. Chahal will bolster Haryana's squad which is studded with IPL (Indian Premier League) stars like Harshal Patel and Rahul Tewatia among others.
The non-selection of the 33-year-old leggie came across as a surprise to many but an average outing in the recently held Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy might have cost him a place in the side. Chahal represented Haryana in the premier T20 tournament but bagged just 11 wickets in seven games at an economy rate of 5.82.
Seven out of those 11 wickets came against Mizoram and Meghalaya and he couldn't grab enough scalps while playing against sides like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Baroda. However, the spin wizard was at his miserly best in those games and proved extremely difficult to score against.
Chahal took to the social media platform 'X' formerly Twitter to share a picture of him with his teammates on the eve of Haryana's campaign opener to be played against Uttarakhand at the ADSA Railways Cricket Ground in Ahmedabad.
Notably, Chahal is India's leading wicket-taker in the shortest format of the sport. He has bagged a total of 96 scalps in 80 T20I matches for the Men in Blue at an average of 25.09. Though he has proved a bit expensive and conceded runs at an economy rate of 8.19, his ability to take big wickets at crucial junctures has helped India win numerous games.
With the Indian selectors giving the young leggie Ravi Bishnoi an opportunity in the series against Australia, Chahal would like to put a few stellar performances on exhibition in the Vijay Hazare Trophy to regain the trust of the selection panel.
