Took lot of hard work, feeling excited, emotional: Rahul Chahar after T20 WC call-up

Abu Dhabi [UAE], September 9 (ANI): Spinner Rahul Chahar has said that he is feeling excited and a little emotional about being named in India's T20 World Cup squad.

Chahar was named in India's 15-member squad on Wednesday while Yuzvendra Chahal has missed out. A total of five spinners have been selected for the team.

"It took a lot of hard work, World Cup is a very big thing, you get few chances to represent your country in tournaments like these so I am excited and a little emotional," said Chahar in a video posted on the official Twitter account of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee met on Wednesday to pick the squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup to be hosted by the BCCI from October 17 to November 14 in the UAE and Oman.

Team India chief selector Chetan Sharma on Wednesday said that good performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) went in favour of experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as he was picked in the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"Ravichandran Ashwin has been playing in the IPL regularly. He has performed well there. When you go into the World Cup, you need an off-spinner, everyone has an idea that the wickets in the UAE will get slower as IPL will also be played there. Spinners will get assistance so having an off-spinner holds the key. Washington Sundar is injured and Ashwin is an asset for the team. He has performed well in the IPL so that is why he has found a place for himself in the squad," said Sharma during a virtual press conference.

In a surprise move, R Ashwin was included in the team which will begin its campaign in the showpiece event against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24. He had last played a T20I against West Indies in July 2017. Yuzvendra Chahal missed out on the squad and in a big announcement, former India skipper MS Dhoni was named as the mentor of Team India for the event.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishan Kishan.

Stand-byes: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur. (ANI)