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Published 17:51 IST, November 7th 2021

India's bowling coach breaks silence on Yuzvendra Chahal's absence in T20 World Cup

Bharat Arun breaks silence on Yuzvendra Chahal's absence in the T20 World Cup and also discusses potential reasons for India's struggles in the tournament.

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
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India's bowling coach Bharat Arun broke his silence on Yuzvendra Chahal's absence in the T20 World Cup as he also gave some possible reasons as to why the national side has struggled in the tournament.

As things stand, India find themselves in a precarious position as their hopes of making it to the semi-final hinges entirely on Afghanistan defeating New Zealand. India currently are in third place in Group 2 of the T20 World Cup standings, two points behind New Zealand, but have a better run rate.

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T20 World Cup: Arun explains Yuzvendra Chahal's absence

While speaking on Sunday at a virtual press conference, Bharat Arun said, "That is for the selectors to decide, we can only play with the team that has been given to us, and I would not like to delve too much into that." The Indian selectors surprised several fans by not choosing Chahal in the side despite his consistent performances in the IPL. The leg spinner picked up 18 wickets in just 15 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

T20 World Cup: Arun explains why India may have struggled

While speaking at the same press conference, Bharat Arun also answered questions about India's below-par performance at the T20 World Cup 2021. "I am not trying to give any excuses, but I think the toss plays a very vital role in any match. Toss should not be of any consequence, but here the toss gives a very undue advantage. There is a huge change between batting in first innings and batting in second innings, which should not be the case in a very short format like this." Indian skipper Virat Kohli lost the toss in his opening three games before winning it against Scotland.

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Arun then also explained that playing in the IPL just before the World Cup was not a good idea as it required players to be 'on the road for six months.' The Indian bowling coach added that 'the players have not gone home ever since they had a short break after the last IPL,' resulting in them taking a 'huge toll'.

17:51 IST, November 7th 2021