The player hasn't appeared in the playing XI since 2023
Former India batter Aakash Chopra felt that the BCCI selection committee has ‘closed the file’ on legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal’s international career by leaving him out of the Champions Trophy 2025 squad.
Chahal hasn’t played ODI since January 2023 and was sidelined by his state team Haryana for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He had picked up 18 wickets in the 2023-24 Vijay Hazare Trophy and 21 wickets across two editions of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy since being dropped from the national team.
However, the 34-year-old was bought for INR 18 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction by Punjab Kings.
“Yuzvendra Chahal has been totally finished. His file has been closed. I have got no idea why they did that,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
India named the likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in their spin department for the Champions Trophy beginning on February 19.
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Axar has become a mainstay in the Indian limited-overs set up in the last couple of years with his consistent performances.
“It is an interesting case. He last played in January 2023. So it’s been two years for him. His numbers are also very good. He has picked up a lot of wickets and was consistently doing well,” Chopra added on Chahal’s performances in the domestic circuit.
Chahal had also picked up 15 wickets from 18 matches in IPL 2024 for Rajasthan Royals. Despite these performances, the Haryana spinner hasn’t played a T20I since August 2023 which came after his 21 wickets from 14 matches for the Royals in IPL that year. He was part of the 2024 T20 World Cup squad but didn’t get a game.
Chopra said that the Indian team management might have felt selecting Chahal for the Champions Trophy as a regressive step due to his long absence.
“Because it’s been two years since it has been closed, there is no place for Yuzi also here because as soon as you suddenly pick him out of the blue, it will be seen as a regressive step,” he said.
Washington is the only right arm spinner in the Champions Trophy squad, but the Tamil Nadu man also offers depth to the side with his batting ability, which could be another reason to not pick Chahal.
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