Yuzvendra Chahal Explains World Cup Omissions and Why an India Return Still Matters Most

A World Cup place without a World Cup appearance

Yuzvendra Chahal has taken 96 wickets in 78 T20 internationals, earned a place in India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad and secured an IPL contract worth ₹18 crore. Yet the leg spinner has never played a T20 World Cup match, a gap that helps explain why returning to the India team still matters so much to him.

Speaking to former India opener Aakash Chopra on the Bat and Ball podcast, Chahal described how selection decisions, team balance and competition shaped his career. He also discussed his unfulfilled Test ambitions, the guidance he received from MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, and why he believes the IPL Impact Player rule has made bowling harder.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's 2024 squad announcement, issued on April 30 that year, named Chahal among 15 players selected for the tournament in the United States and West Indies. Rohit Sharma was captain, and India's opening match was scheduled against Ireland in New York on June 5.

Chahal remained unused throughout that tournament. His last T20 international appearance was against the West Indies in Lauderhill in August 2023, while his last ODI came in January that year. His reflections explain how a bowler can remain in consideration for a major tournament while struggling to find a place in the playing team.

Why India left him out in 2023

Rohit explained the reasoning behind Chahal's omission from the 2023 ODI World Cup squad directly to him, according to the spinner. India wanted more batting options and room for another fast bowler.

Chahal, describing his conversation with the then India captain while preparing to play county cricket in England, said:

In 2023, when I went to play County, Rohit had told me that we want batters till number eight, so we were going with that. He told me clearly that they were also looking for an extra fast bowler for the World Cup. So it was made clear to me. After the World Cup, I just stopped thinking about selection,

Batting through number eight means choosing a player in that position who can contribute useful runs, leaving fewer places for specialist bowlers. Chahal's account places his exclusion within that choice about how to build the team.

The decision also shows why wicket taking alone does not determine selection. A captain must fit batting, pace bowling and spin into an eleven, with each choice affecting the space available for another player. For Chahal, India's preferred balance left him outside the squad for a World Cup at home.

Why the 2021 omission hurt most

Chahal said missing the 2021 T20 World Cup squad hurt more than travelling to a tournament without playing. In 2022, he was part of the squad, although he did not get a match.

The India spinner explained that Rohit had told him his opportunity in 2022 would depend on a particular team combination:

I felt worse in 2021 because I was not there at all. In 2022, at least I was in the team. Sometimes you also know the combination may not work. So I did not think a lot. But you always feel that you should have at least played one World Cup game. Rohit had told me that I would play only if a particular combination worked. So at least I had the clarity,

His record makes that disappointment striking. Since his T20 international debut in 2016, Chahal's 96 wickets in 78 matches amount to about 1.23 wickets per appearance. He nevertheless went without a T20 World Cup game across the 2021, 2022 and 2024 tournaments, and was also absent from the 2026 edition.

How Rohit and Kohli helped his return

Chahal credited Rohit and Virat Kohli with helping him return to the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. He said both senior players had an important role in his selection, with Rohit expressing his support during that IPL season.

Chahal said he approached the 2024 IPL without placing extra selection pressure on himself:

In the IPL 2024, I just came to enjoy and did not put extra pressure on myself. That season, I did well, and Rohit told me he wanted me and we would see in the selection meeting,

The BCCI's eventual squad included Chahal alongside fellow spin options Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Selection brought him back into India's tournament plans, but the presence of several spin options meant competition for a place continued after the squad was announced.

The main stages of his recent international career show how those opportunities narrowed:

• 2021: Chahal missed selection for the T20 World Cup.
• 2022: He joined the T20 World Cup squad but did not play.
• January 2023: He made his most recent ODI appearance.
• August 2023: He played his most recent T20 international, against the West Indies in Lauderhill.
• April 30, 2024: The BCCI named him in its T20 World Cup squad; he remained unused during the tournament.
• August 2026: He retired from first class cricket after taking 148 wickets in 49 matches.

The Test opportunity he wanted

Chahal rejected the idea that being a specialist in limited overs cricket had always been his own choice. He said other people had given him that label, while he had wanted to play Test cricket.

He identified 2017 to 2019 as his best opportunity to break into the Test side. Ravichandran Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep were competing for places, making entry difficult even during a period when Chahal believed he was ready.

Test cricket asks bowlers to sustain their work across much longer matches than the four overs they can bowl in a T20 game. Chahal said he believed he could bowl 35 or 40 overs, despite doubts from others about his physique. His frustration was that perceptions about his build appeared to sit alongside the already difficult competition for selection.

Chahal finished his first class career with 148 wickets in 49 matches, including appearances for Northamptonshire in English county cricket. That is roughly three wickets per match. He has now stepped away from that format, saying the decision allows him to work harder on the formats in which he still hopes to represent India.

Why he wants the Impact Player rule changed

Chahal's concerns about opportunities for bowlers extend to the IPL. He criticised the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to bring a substitute into the match and gives them more flexibility to use specialist batters or bowlers.

He argued that the rule has shifted the balance too far toward batting. As an example, he said teams now expect at least 70 runs during the six powerplay overs, when restrictions on fielders near the boundary create more scoring opportunities.

Seventy runs in six overs requires a rate of about 11.7 runs an over. Chahal used that expectation to describe the pressure bowlers face from the start of an innings, before they have much time to settle into a contest.

His preferred solution was to remove the rule. He also suggested possible counterweights: allowing an extra fielder, making boundaries longer or leaving more grass on pitches. Those changes address different parts of the contest, giving captains more fielding cover, making boundaries harder to clear or providing bowlers with more assistance from the surface.

What the ₹18 crore contract means to him

Punjab Kings gave Chahal an ₹18 crore contract at the auction for the 2025 IPL season. He said he deserved that amount after previously earning ₹6.5 crore with Rajasthan Royals.

The increase was ₹11.5 crore, taking his contract to about 2.77 times its previous value. Chahal also questioned why Indian players receiving large contracts face more scrutiny than overseas players who attract similar attention at auctions.

His comments connect two different measures of a cricket career. An IPL franchise can place a high financial value on a player's skills while the national team chooses a combination that leaves him out.

Chahal said wearing the India jersey again would bring him greater satisfaction than money. He described his international ambition as strong despite an absence from the playing team lasting more than three years. No date for a possible return has been identified.

How Kohli and de Villiers shaped his bowling

Chahal recalled an IPL match against Chennai Super Kings in 2015 when Suresh Raina hit him for three consecutive sixes. Kohli encouraged him to keep trusting his approach, and Chahal said he later dismissed Raina.

For a leg spinner, that kind of backing matters because the attempt to take a wicket can also create a scoring opportunity for the batter. Chahal remembered the episode as a lesson in staying committed after an expensive passage of play.

AB de Villiers provided another kind of education in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru nets. Chahal said bowling to him helped because de Villiers used a traditional batting style and offered useful feedback.

The two experiences served different purposes. Kohli supported Chahal during the immediate pressure of a match, while de Villiers helped him learn through practice. Both memories show how conversations with senior players influenced the way he developed his craft.

Dhoni's demanding guidance

MS Dhoni also left a strong impression on Chahal, including during his six wicket performance against England in Bengaluru in 2017. Chahal recalled being scolded by Dhoni and said he went numb before Raina reassured him afterward.

The memory stands out because it came during a successful bowling performance. Even while taking wickets, Chahal was receiving demanding feedback from an experienced wicketkeeper positioned directly behind the stumps.

Chahal said Dhoni played an important mentoring role for both him and Kuldeep. A wicketkeeper has a close view of how the ball travels and how a batter responds, making that position useful for guiding a spinner during a match.

Across his recollections of Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit and de Villiers, Chahal returned to the value of clear communication. Encouragement helped him persist, practical feedback helped him improve, and direct explanations made difficult selection decisions easier to understand. His immediate ambition is to turn the skills developed through those experiences into another opportunity for India.

Key Points

• Chahal said Rohit explained that India's 2023 ODI World Cup plans required batting through number eight and an extra fast bowler.
• The BCCI selected him for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but he did not play a match.
• He has 96 wickets in 78 T20 internationals and last appeared for India in August 2023.
• He retired from first class cricket with 148 wickets in 49 matches while retaining his ambition to return to international cricket.
• Chahal wants the IPL Impact Player rule removed or balanced with changes that give bowlers more support.
• His Punjab Kings contract rose to ₹18 crore from ₹6.5 crore at Rajasthan Royals, but he said an India return matters more than money.