New Delhi [India], July 2 : Former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly backed spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to shine in the forthcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup if he does feature in the showpiece event.
However, the former India captain added that he was surprised how Chahal, who is a regular for Team India in the shorter formats, especially in home conditions, misses out on major tournaments.
A key performer for the team in white-ball cricket over the past few years, Chahal has taken 72 wickets in 72 ODIs at an average of 27.13 and an economy rate of 5.26. His best bowling figures in the 50-over format are 6/42.
Speaking to Star Sports, Ganguly said India need to find a good wrist-spinner to boost their World Cup prospects.
Though he named Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav as likely wrist-spinning options for the showpiece event, he backed Chahal as a key personnel in the Indian squad while expressing bemusement over how he keeps missing marquee events.
"I feel India have to find a wrist-spinner for this World Cup. Jadeja is there, Ravichandran Ashwin is there, Axar Patel is there, who according to me is also an exceptional all-rounder. (Ravi) Bishnoi and Kuldeep (Yadav) are there but (Yuzvendra) Chahal somehow misses big tournaments. He performs extremely consistently in shorter formats, whether it is 20-over or 50-over. It is important to keep an eye on him as well," Ganguly told Star Sports.
Chahal has also taken 91 wickets in 75 T20Is at an average of 24.68 and an economy rate of 8.13. His best figures in the shortest format are 6/25.
In this year's edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the leggie took 21 wickets in 14 matches at an average of 20.57 and an economy rate of 8.17. His best bowling figures were 4/17.
He is also the highest wicket-taker in the league's history, with 187 wickets in 145 matches at an average of 21.68 and an economy rate of 7.66. He also has the best bowling figures in the cash-rich league at 5/40.
He last featured in an ODI game for India in January, this year, against New Zealand while his last T20I was against the same opponent in January.
He was among the wickets in both these games.
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