Nilesh Kulkarni hails decision to pick teenager Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar during this year's IPL

Former India left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni gave a thumbs up to the national selection committee's decision to include young leggie Rahul Chahar in T20I squad for the West Indies tour Kulkarni felt it was a fine strategy to pick Chahar, 19, considering the current form of wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kuldeep took six wickets in seven World Cup games while Chahal picked up 12 wickets in eight matches. Chahar, who claimed 20 wickets in his last five games for India 'A', was instrumental in Mumbai Indians' IPL triumph with 13 wickets in as many games.

Nilesh Kulkarni

"It's a good inclusion, purely because Rahul had a good season last year," Kulkarni said on the sidelines of International Institute of Sports Management's student induction ceremony held in Bandra yesterday.

Though Kuldeep and Chahal are part of the Indian ODI team for the West Indies tour, Chahar will be the only leggie in the T20I side alongside left-arm spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya and off-spinner Washington Sundar.

"More importantly, the selectors are addressing that area if at all injury and form concerns erupt with Kuldeep and Chahal. You then have a back-up bowler ready to fill that gap. That's how you build a team...you are not dependent on only one or two options," said Kulkarni.

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