"Must have been difficult" - AB de Villiers on Yuzvendra Chahal's appreciation post for Ravichandran Ashwin

Yuzvendra Chahal took to social media to share an appreciation post for Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday (September 24). The senior spinner claimed a three-wicket haul in the second ODI of India's three-match series against Australia.

Reacting to Ashwin's bowling exploits, Chahal wrote on X:

"Ravichandran Ashwin name is enough."

Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers praised Yuzvendra Chahal for the gesture. He pointed out that while the leg spinner was bound to be gutted by his exclusion from India's World Cup 2023 squad, he still went ahead and appreciated Ashwin.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, De Villiers said (5:40):

"This must have been difficult, and I've got to give a lot of credit to Yuzi, and it speaks volumes about the character of the man. Obviously, we all know Yuzi missed out in that World Cup squad. For Yuzi to write something like that, I'm sure he must be hurting that he's been overlooked for this World Cup, and it must be sour. There's a lot of things he must be dealing with. And then he goes out and announces to the world that he is proud of his friend who made it into the World Cup squad."

Notably, Chahal was one of the notable absentees from India's preliminary World Cup 2023 squad.

Ashwin also wasn't part of the previously announced lineup. However, his inclusion in the team for the ODI series indicates that he is in the scheme of things for the ICC event.

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"Looking like hot favorites for this World Cup" - AB De Villiers on India's recent form

Speaking in the same video, AB de Villiers picked India as the favorites for the World Cup 2023. He emphasised that the Men in Blue are in stellar form, while the remaining teams have several issues to address.

Naming India as the favourites for the World Cup, De Villiers added:

"Team India are looking really strong as favourites. All other teams seem to be fumbling and seem to have issues with all kinds of stuff, especially injuries and being out of form. Team India are looking like hot favorites for this World Cup, and there's no doubt about it that they will be serious contenders to lift that trophy come 19th November." [6:49 onwards]

India have been on a roll lately. The side's Asia Cup 2023 and subsequent ODI series victory over Australia would have done wonders to their confidence. Furthermore, they are also currently at No. 1 in ICC rankings across formats.