“He should be playing more matches, again and again.You should always believe in yourself. Chahal has been a brilliant bowler. But unfortunately, we look more into the all-rounders. That’s why we had Jadeja, then we had Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. If Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are part of the team, you can’t keep them away from the eleven,” said Raju in conversation with IANS.
In the Indian squad that won the T20 World Cup, Chahal was the fourth spinner chosen, following Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. However, he did not feature in any of the matches during the tournament. Furthermore, compared to the other three spinners, Chahal’s role is limited to being a specialist bowler, as he is not known to contribute with the bat.
“Yuzi is a brilliant bowler but he missed out as he has not played enough matches. There is nothing like getting old or anything is far away from you. You can always play good matches, come back and perform. Now the biggest headache for all the selectors is that there is so much variety now.
“In that variety to pick someone, it takes real guts and Chahal is a proven match winner. The only thing is little lack of match practice. Hopefully, he plays a lot of domestic cricket and comes back strong,” Raju added.
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has rapidly risen as a potential long-term prospect for India’s T20I plans, replacing Chahal. During the Zimbabwe tour in July, Bishnoi claimed six wickets in five matches, with his googlies troubling the batsmen.
Raju, who previously served as a national selector, considers the period leading up to the 2026 T20 World Cup as the perfect opportunity for Bishnoi to establish himself.
“When you’re in form, you should be getting your chances. The spinners are very, very, very important players when it comes to white-ball cricket. We’ve seen Chahal for a long time, but unfortunately he doesn’t find a place now. So that’s why we have Bishnoi, who fields brilliantly. Then, him being young, it gives you that extra advantage on the field also.
“When he bowls, it’s a new variety, as he’s a different bowler. He depends more on his googlies, which is in Rashid Khan mould. He’s very high on his confidence now, and that also adds because when you talk about the next T20 World Cup coming, he should play as many matches as possible.
“The crowd expects too many things from this Indian team. So if you want to be a match winner, you have to perform consistently all over the way, right against the best of teams. So if Gambhir and all are smart, they’ll give him more chances.
“Plus, if you see all around the world, the wrist-spinners have been match-winners for any team in T20 cricket,” Raju said.
