Former New Zealand cricketer Daniel Vettori expressed his displeasure after veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was dropped from the playing XI in the first T20I against the Kiwis in Jaipur. Rohit Sharma went with two spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel.

After being left out of the T20 World Cup squad, Chahal was recalled for the New Zealand T20Is. He had a superlative run in the second phase of IPL 2021, much like Venkatesh Iyer, who was handed a debut cap on Wednesday.

Daniel Vettori believes Yuzvendra Chahal deserved the same treatment as that of Iyer during a chat on ESPNCricinfo.

“Venkatesh Iyer, who is being rewarded for his form in the IPL. It’s sad to see Chahal not being given the same opportunity. We all know what Ashwin can do, is he going to be in the starting XI for the World Cup next year, who knows? But Chahal was bowling exceptionally well and was a wicket-taking option for Kohli throughout the IPL. He is one of the best T20 leggies in the world,” Daniel Vettori said. 

INNINGS BREAK!

A solid performance with the ball from #TeamIndia! 👍

2⃣ wickets each for @ashwinravi99 & @BhuviOfficial
1⃣ wicket each for @mdsirajofficial & @deepak_chahar9

Over to our batsmen now. #INDvNZ @Paytm

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/5lDM57TI6f pic.twitter.com/tynQJZlzes

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2021

Ravichandran Ashwin continued his fine form with the white ball, returning with figures of 2/23 from his four overs which included the wickets of Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips. Axar Patel, on the other hand, went wicketless and was a tad bit expensive giving away 31 runs.

“He deserved the opportunity to come back” – Daniel Vettori

Yuzvendra Chahal was different altogether in the UAE leg of IPL 2021, finishing the competition with 18 scalps, second-highest in the Royal Challengers Bangalore after Harshal Patel.

Daniel Vettori believes Chahal deserved to be a part of the starting XI.

“At the time, the decision was probably right to leave him out of the World Cup squad but then the Chahal that we saw in the IPL, was the Chahal we all know. Chahal bowled quicker in the IPL, trying to spin more, and attacked the stumps more often. So, I thought he deserved the opportunity to come back into the starting XI tonight after being left out earlier,” he concluded.