"I find that slightly disturbing" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal never being considered for Test cricket

Aakash Chopra has termed Yuzvendra Chahal never being considered for the Indian Test team as "slightly disturbing".

Yuzvendra Chahal has represented India in 54 ODIs and 48 T20Is to date, picking up up 92 and 62 wickets respectively. However, the wily leg-spinner has never been in the Indian selectors' scheme of things for the longest version of the game.

While responding to a fan question in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was slightly bothered that Yuzvendra Chahal has never earned a Test call-up, although his skills are suited to the format.

"His name has never been considered for Test cricket, I find that slightly disturbing. The only thing you can do is to do well. When you play ODIs and T20Is, you do well there and when you get a chance to play first-class cricket, you do well there as well. I do feel for Chahal, I think you can play him Test cricket as well. He has got the brains, bowls at a good pace and is accurate," said Chopra.

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that Yuzvendra Chahal has not only excelled in limited-overs cricket for India but also given a good account of himself in first-class cricket.

"His first-class numbers are good. Firstly, he plays for Haryana in Lahli which has an absolute green top, with not much help for the spinners. Generally, the fast bowlers from both sides split the wickets. So your numbers cannot be extraordinary," observed Chopra.

Yuzi chahal wants to play test cricket for INDIA #cricket pic.twitter.com/Wzm5FixhgR

— Viren Oswal (@OswalViren) May 21, 2021

Yuzvendra Chahal has scalped 84 wickets in 31 first-class encounters at an acceptable average of 33.21. However, he has not played a first-class match since December 2018. The 30-year-old was reportedly even asked by the team management in the past not to play domestic cricket to manage his workload.

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"You can't put a finger on it" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal's unimpressive returns in IPL 2021

Yuzvendra Chahal has picked just four wickets in IPL 2021 thus far [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra responded that it is difficult to pinpoint a particular reason when asked about Yuzvendra Chahal's unimpressive returns in the first half of IPL 2021.

"What happened wrong in the first half, you can't put a finger on it. It happens at times that you are unable to take those many wickets. He was still bowling alright but was not getting the wickets," said Chopra.

The former Indian batsman added that Yuzvendra Chahal being used slightly differently by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) this season could be one of the reasons behind his below-par performances. Chopra, however, is hopeful about the 30-year-old delivering the goods in the remaining IPL 2021 matches in the UAE.

"This time for a change he was made to bowl quite a few overs in the powerplay. When you bowl at that stage, you don't look for wickets but are more restrictive. Maybe that, but when the next half starts in the UAE, I feel he will come to his own, he has done that in the past," signed off Chopra.

Yuzvendra Chahal, who has snared just four wickets in the RCB's seven IPL 2021 matches, has proved to be slightly expensive as well. He has conceded an average of 8.26 runs per over and has not bowled his full quota of four overs on a few occasions.

Yuzvendra Chahal in IPL 20210/41 (4) vs MI0/29 (4) vs SRH2/34 (4) vs KKR0/18 (2) vs RR1/24 (3) vs CSK0/10 (2) vs DC1/34 (4) vs PBKS --> TODAY#Chahal #RCB #PlayBold #IPL2021 #PBKSvRCB pic.twitter.com/uioZBehisZ

— CricNerds (@cricnerds) April 30, 2021