Asia Cup 2023: Sourav Ganguly, Irfan Pathan raise concern on Chahal omission, Gavaskar defends decision

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India announced their squad for the Asia Cup 2023 on Monday (August 21) and Yuzvendra Chahal's omission has been the talk of the entire nation since the announcement.

The continental tournament is on the horizon and India picked their 17-member team. India captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were present at the press conference which announced the squad.

Although both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer returned to the squad after injury lay-offs, it was leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who couldn't make the cut. Left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav is included in the Asia Cup squad but Chahal missed out.

With the World Cup merely a couple of months away, Chahal's exclusion has raised serious questions. Despite Rohit Sharma stating the door is still open for the Haryana-born spinner to make a comeback in the World Cup squad, it was a glaring step to not include Chahal in the Asia Cup squad.

And former India captain Sourav Ganguly, Irfan Pathan and another legend Sunil Gavaskar had their say after India's announcement. While Ganguly and Pathan both questioned Chahal's omission, Gavaskar pointed out the exact reason why the leg-spinner missed out.

"I would pick Chahal. I would always pick wrist-spinners," Ganguly said to Hindustan Times in an interview.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also asked a question on his social media platform and thinks the men in Blue will be opting to play a lot of bowlers who are handy with the bat.

"Worry for selectors that Bumrah and Prasidh coming back from long lay off. That's one of the two reasons you will see Indian team playing with an extra bowler who can bat. I would have Chahal in my squad. What do you guys think?" Pathan stated on his social media.

But Sunil Gavaskar has defended the decision of dropping Chahal and believes the batting edge of Kuldeep Yadav gave him the advantage over Chahal.

"Sometimes you're looking at the balance of the team. Maybe, you can say that Kuldeep is a handy batter down the order, so maybe that's why he gets the nod ahead of Chahal. Also, he brings a left-hand variety," Gavaskar said.