Former India opener Aakash Chopra expressed astonishment that seasoned leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was not awarded a central contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Chopra feels the snub demonstrates that the selectors and team management are looking past him.
This Wednesday, on February 28, the BCCI revealed the newly assigned central contracts for the season of 2023-24. A noteworthy observation was the absence of certain key figures – namely Chahal. Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Umesh Yadav, were also missing from the list.
Aakash Chopra believes Chahal’s omission from the list of new contracts is odd given the other major names.
“I am a bit surprised that Yuzi Chahal’s name is not there. Cheteshwar Pujara, Akinkya Rahane, and Shikhar Dhawan – their names not being there, I can understand. Even Deepak Hooda for that matter. But Chahal’s name not being there – what does that signify? It seems to indicate that they [BCCI] are looking in a different direction. This is a validation of the theory. He might have had a ray of hope, but it wasn’t to be. His name is not there.”
Aakash Chopra
Chahal, 33, was a permanent member of the Indian limited-overs team for several years, from 2016 to 2019. His presence in the squad has been rather erratic lately. Chahal has played 72 One-Day Internationals and 80 Twenty20 Internationals, taking 121 and 96 wickets, respectively.
“Deepak Chahar was almost there I think” – Aakash Chopra
According to Chopra, bowling all-rounder Deepak Chahar would have had a better chance of landing a central contract if he hadn’t missed so many games since his father was unwell. The medium pacer withdrew from the South African One-Day Internationals due to a family medical issue.
“Deepak Chahar was almost there I think. His father was not well, so he did not play, otherwise he would have played against Afghanistan. I was half-hoping that his name would be there, but if he plays the World Cup, and ends up playing 10 T20Is, his name would get added. But, at this point in time, it is not there. No other huge [surprises] other than that.”
Aakash Chopra
The easily injured Deepak Chahar has participated in 13 ODIs and 25 T20Is, capturing 16 and 31 wickets in each format, respectively. His latest appearance for Team India was in a T20I against Australia in Raipur, back in December 2023.