"He has been totally finished" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal's non-selection for 2025 Champions Trophy

Former player Aakash Chopra has noted that Yuzvendra Chahal has been ignored while picking recent Indian ODI sides despite his impressive record in the format. However, he acknowledged that the leg-spinner couldn't have been chosen in the Men in Blue's 2025 Champions Trophy squad as it would have been seen as a 'regressive step.'

The selectors recently picked India's 15-member squad for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy, to be played in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 onwards. They chose four spinners, with Kuldeep Yadav being the only wrist spinner.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the cricketer-turned-commentator reflected on veterans Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Chahal, who weren't picked in India's Champions Trophy squad. As for the latter, he said (13:40):

"An interesting case is Yuzi Chahal's. He last played in January 2023. So it's been two years for him. It's interesting because Bhuvi would have been expensive and wouldn't have got wickets in the last 10 matches before he was dropped, but Yuzi Chahal's numbers are also very good. He has picked up a lot of wickets and was consistently doing well."

"However, he has been totally finished. His file has been closed. I have got no idea why they did that. Having said that, because it's been two years since it's been closed, there is no place for Yuzi also here because as soon as you suddenly pick him out of the blue, it will be seen as a regressive step," Chopra added.

Yuzvendra Chahal has picked up 121 wickets at an average of 27.13 in 69 ODI innings. However, he hasn't played an ODI since January 2023 and wasn't part of India's 2023 ODI World Cup squad either.

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"If someone is not in the ODI setup for three years, how can he come?" - Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar doesn't seem to be in the Indian selectors' thoughts across all formats. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that Bhuvneshwar Kumar couldn't have been picked either as he hasn't played an ODI in the last three years.

"The last ODI Bhuvneshwar Kumar played was in January 2022. He has not played ODI cricket since then. If someone is not in the ODI setup for three years, how can he come? Three years is a long time," he said.

The former India opener added that it would have been seen as a backward step if the veteran seamer had been picked ahead of other fast bowlers.

"If he has not been a part of the team for three years, you guys only would have abused the selectors if they had kept him in the team. Then it would have been seen as a regressive step as to what happened to your other fast bowlers for you to go back to Bhuvi. So there was no place for Bhuvi here," Chopra observed.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has picked up 141 wickets at an average of 35.11 in 120 ODI innings. However, he hasn't played for India in any of the formats since November 2022 and no longer seems to be in the national reckoning.