‘India is the number one contender’ – Yuzvendra Chahal feels India is ‘prepared for the World Cup’

‘India is the number one contender’ – Yuzvendra Chahal feels India is ‘prepared for the World Cup’

Yuzvendra Chahal

The T20 World Cup 2021 is all set to take place in India from October. Despite the country being ravaged by the second wave of the pandemic, the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is confident of hosting the tournament. Being the hosts, the men in blue are favourites in the eyes of many and Yuzvendra Chahal is one of them.

Chahal feels that India has all bases covered let it be batting or bowling. The leggie is confident that India will be favourites if the carnival of T20 cricket moves to the UAE. Chahal adds that the wickets in the UAE are similar to that in the subcontinent and hence it wouldn’t be very difficult for the side to adapt to the new conditions

“No, I don’t think so. There will be a squad of 23 to 24 players for the World Cup and all the slots have been filled. Let it be the middle order or the spinners or the pacer or even the batsmen (top order), I think we are prepared for the World Cup. If you ask me, given the experienced players we have, I consider India as the number one contender,” Chahal told Sports Tak.

“Definitely (on India’s chance if World Cup moves to UAE). Because the last time when we played the IPL there, the wickets were good. It was not like they changed drastically as the tournament went on. Whenever we play in Asia, we get similar wickets, even in India. The only drawback will be that the feel that an Indian crowd gives while playing at home will be missing. But it will be 70 to 80% similar to playing in India.“

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“My focus is completely on white ball,” Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal

While Yuzvendra Chahal has been very successful with the white ball, he is yet to don the all whites for India. Chahal asserts that that with the World Cup around the corner, his focus is on the shorter formats. “My full focus is now on the Sri Lanka series which is coming up, after that the World Cup is there too. My belief always has been that to keep performing, grab any opportunity that come your way. With the World Cup coming up, my focus is completely on white ball.”

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The IPL was suspended after many teams recorded positive cases of the virus. Chahal shares that the suspension of the IPL didn’t come as surprise to him. With BCCI struggling to find a window to resume the season, the leggie feels that it will be great for the preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“When cases started emerging in other teams, RCB had games with them. When multiple teams have cases, you can no more postpone games. If there is a single team you can postpone a game or two, but when multiple teams had cases the organisers were in trouble. So we had got a hint that the league might get postponed.“

“The BCCI is trying its best because it’s the biggest league in the World, people all around the globe wait for the IPL to happen. It is a great experience as a player as you get to play against some big guns of the game. It will be preparation ahead of the World Cup if IPL resumes,” he adds.

Yuzvendra Chahal has been going through some tough times himself with his parents getting hospitalized after contracting COVID-19. He informed that both his parents are back home and well on the path to recovery. “My mother has tested negative. Dad came from hospital yesterday; he is still positive. He will take more 7 to 10 days to recover.“

Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021 set to be moved out of India after IPL 2021 suspension