ICC Champions Trophy 2025: ‘Yuzvendra Chahal is totally finished’

Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra has spoken about the omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He noted that despite good performances, the leg-spinner has been left out of the Indian squad.

Indian national cricket team spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been completely out of the squad and it’s fair to say that his comeback seems a long way off now. From being one of the biggest match-winners to being nowhere near the stage, he has witnessed a huge downfall.

Yuzvendra Chahal has played picked 121 wickets at an average of 27.13 in 69 ODIs

Yuzvendra Chahal, who played a vital role for India in the ICC World Cup 2019, has not played an ODI for the team since January 2023. He was not even part of the squad of the ICC World Cup 2023 and now he has. I have not been named in the squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

Yuzvendra Chahal has a great record in ODIs. The leg-spinner has picked 121 wickets at an average of 27.13 in 69 ODI innings. In the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India have picked four spinners a Kuldeep YadavRavindra Jadeja, Axar Pateland Washington Sundar.

Your file has been closed: Aakash Chopra to Yuzvendra Chahal

But Aakash Chopra said picking Yuzvendra Chahal in the squad would have been a regressive step as he has been out of the set-up for a long time. He, however, has been surprised at the way the leg-spinner has been left out despite having a good record. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, he said:

“An interesting case is that of Yuzi Chahal. He last played in January 2023. So it’s been two years for him. It’s interesting because Bhuvi would have been expensive and he wouldn’t have taken wickets in the last 10 matches before he was dismissed but Yuzi Chahal’s numbers are also very good.

“However, it’s totally over. His file has been closed. I have no idea why they did that. That said, since it’s been closed for two years, there’s no room for Yuzi here as well because as soon as you suddenly choose it out of the blue, it will be seen as a regressive step.”

If someone is not in the ODI setup for three years, how can they come? – Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Aakash Chopra also opined Bhuvneshwar Kumar He could not be picked because he has not played the format since 2022. He stressed that three years is a big gap and bringing him back into the team would have been a step backwards. He added:

“The last ODI that Bhuvneshwar Kumar played was in January 2022. He has not played ODI cricket since then. If someone is not in the ODI set-up for three years, how can he come? Three years is a long time of time

“If he’s been out of the team for three years, you guys would only have abused the selectors if they had kept him in the team. Then it would have been seen as a step backwards in terms of what happened with your other fast. bowlers for you to come back to Bhuvi, so there was no place for Bhuvi here.”

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