"They didn't sulk or get upset once because they were very sure. At the start of the tournament, they were told that under these conditions, we would be playing you; otherwise, it might be difficult. So, they were very aware and were preparing in such a way that when they get an opportunity, they would try and do their best".
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Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel, who played in the majority of India’s T20Is leading up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, did not make the XI at any point during the tournament. Chahal is India’s second-highest T20I wicket-taker, however, he hasn’t played in a T20 World Cup match since his debut in 2016. He wasn’t even on the roster for the 2021 World Cup, and even if he was chosen this time, he didn’t play. There were a lot of questions raised when he was not even picked against England in the semifinal.
Contrarily, Harshal Patel represented India in 23 T20Is prior to this World Cup. But he too failed to secure a spot in the starting XI in the WC. It’s remarkable that two bowlers who represented India so frequently weren’t deemed good enough to compete in even one game of the major tournament. The Indian team’s management’s reasoning for this choice has now been explained by keeper Dinesh Karthik of India, who himself was left out against England.
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“They didn’t sulk or get upset once because they were very sure. At the start of the tournament, they were told that under these conditions, we would be playing you; otherwise, it might be difficult. So, they were very aware and were preparing in such a way that when they get an opportunity, they would try and do their best, but there might be a chance that they ended up not playing,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
“So, when that clarity is there from the coach and captain, it makes the job easier for the player because you just start looking inward and thinking, okay what do I do to start preparing better? That is what they were doing, and had they been given a chance, they would have given their best. This is a very high-intensity tournament. As mentioned, he played a lot of matches for India, and he knows the feeling of being dropped,” he added.
This website had earlier reported how both the players were backed before the WC but were not considered in the main event. Those were the only two players who did not play a single game for India in the WC, after playing the most number of games before the world cup.
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