'Don’t want to play against a team that has him' - Graeme Swann lauds Yuzvendra Chahal after exceptional performance in IPL's UAE leg

Former England spinner and commentator Graeme Swann lauded Indian leg-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, for his sensational comeback in the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League, where he has scalped 9 wickets from six games in contrast to the Indian leg during which he only got four wickets in seven games.

Chahal has been making the noise after missing out on being named in the 15-member T20 World Cup 2021 squad named by the Chetan Sharma-led BCCI selection committee earlier last month. His exclusion came as surprise to many, given India chose as many as five spinners in the team, but Chahal failed to get a look-in.

“Yuzi Chahal has bowled beautifully since RCB has been back in the UAE – the IPL has been back in the UAE. He’s picked up his performances, he’s shrugged off the fact that he’s been left out of the Indian team for the World Cup and thank the lord that he is because I don’t want to be in an English team that plays against India with Yuzi Chahal in it,” Graeme Swann said during a live interaction on Star Sports.

Notably, Chahal has been one of India’s bowling mainstays, but a slight dip in form in the months preceding the T20 World Cup squad selection meant that the selectors preferred Rahul Chahar over him. While Chahal’s performance witnessed a slump, Chahar’s stock rose as he scripted impressive performances during the first leg of the IPL, bagging 11 wickets from seven games and had decent outings against Sri Lanka in the limited-overs series during July.

However, the tables have turned in the UAE, where Chahar has picked merely two wickets in four games, and his slump has coincided with Chahal’s return to form.

When asked to reveal the reason behind preferring Chahar over Chahal, chief selector Chetan Sharma had said: “Yuzvendra Chahal’s name was discussed. But we picked Rahul Chahar over Yuzi as we wanted someone who bowls fast and gets pace off the pitch. He also gets the ball to grip through the surface.”

After the brilliant turnaround, it is expected that Chahal might be included as all the team have time until October 10 to revise and finalize their squads.