Harbhajan Singh remarked of Yuzvendra Chahal’s selection for the South Africa tour, “You kept him in ODIs but not in T20Is.”

Yuzvendra Chahal, a well-known leg spinner from India, has finally returned to the Indian side after being included in the ODI squad for the forthcoming tour to South Africa. The 33-year-old missed the Asia Cup 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023, and he last competed for India in a T20I in August 2023. Chahal’s outstanding achievements in the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophies persisted, despite his persistent exclusion from selection for the current five-match Twenty20 International series against Australia.

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh responded to Chahal’s selection for the ODI team by saying that it’s merely a ploy to offer him a “lollypop to suck on.” Harbhajan Singh went on to say that he doesn’t understand why, after performing so brilliantly in the IPL, he wasn’t selected for the T20 league.

“Yuzvendra Chahal is not available in T20 format. He was retained for ODIs but not for T20Is. All they gave him to suck on was a lollypop. We’ll accept entries in other formats but not in the one where you perform well.

On his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh stated, “It’s beyond my understanding.”

In the meantime, the selection committee chose youthful players like Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mukesh Kumar to replace senior players Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Umesh Yadav in the Test teams. Speaking further about their exclusions, Harbhajan suggested that the board ought to have discussed their employment options with them.

“I believe that making a return will be difficult. They are well-known cricketers who have served Indian cricket. The board ought to have spoken with them. They need to have been told why they weren’t chosen as well as what job paths were open to them, Harbhajan said.

SA will host India’s trip starting on December 10.

Starting on December 10, a three-match Twenty20 International series will kick off India’s trip of South Africa, with Suryakumar Yadav once again serving as captain. The two sides will square off once more in a three-match ODI series, with KL Rahul leading India in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s absence.

In addition, they will participate in a two-match Test series that is a component of the 2023–25 World Test Championship cycle. For the Tests, veteran players Rohit and Kohli will be with the sides.