Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee faced heat from Yuzvendra Chahal fans after the senior leggie got snubbed from India's Asia Cup 2023 squad. Fans slammed the apex board for ignoring Chahal, not opting for a single off-spinner in their lineup. Explaining the reason behind this decision, chief selector Agarkar said "it was difficult to fit two wrist spinners" and to have more depth in batting in the lineup, it was important to pick Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel as well. Kuldeep Yadav was picked over Chahal as the only wrist spinner in the 17-man squad.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has backed BCCI's move to go ahead with Kuldeep Yadav instead of Chahal. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria remarked:
"Yuzvendra Chahal doesn't deserve to be in Team India right now. He has been very inconsistent. Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, has picked up wickets regularly and can be effective in the middle overs. The selectors took the right call by going with Kuldeep over Chahal."
However, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh thinks otherwise. Calling Chahal one of India's best spinners in white-ball cricket, Harbhajan suggested that his absence will be felt during the Asia Cup tournament.
"The one thing I feel is lacking in the team is the absence of Chahal. A leg-spinner who can get the ball to turn away. If you talk about genuine spinner, I don’t think there’s any spinner in India better than Chahal in white-ball formats. Yes, his last few games weren’t good, but that doesn’t make him a bad bowler."
Notably, Yuzvendra Chahal was picked in India's ODI squad for the recent three-match IND vs WI ODI series but didn't play a single match as he wasn't picked in the playing XI. On the same tour, the leg-spinner picked five wickets in five T20I matches against West Indies, giving away a lot of runs in his spells.