Yuzvendra Chahal of Team India is expected to attain a new milestone in T20Is when India hosts Sri Lanka in the inaugural T20I encounter on Tuesday, January 3 at Mumbai’s historic Wankhede Stadium. The leg-spinner needs four wickets to overtake his compatriot Bhuvneshwar Kumar as India’s best T20I wicket-taker at home.
In the shortest format, the 32-year-old spinner has 87 wickets in 71 matches, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has 90 wickets in 87 matches. The senior fast bowler was not selected for the T20I team against the Islanders, and Chahal is sure to outperform his colleague in the series.
Additionally, Chahal is five wickets away from joining an exclusive group of bowlers who have 50 or more wickets at home in T20Is. The Haryana spinner has 45 wickets in 35 home appearances, including a 5-wicket haul and two 4-wicket hauls.
Interestingly, Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in the T20I series involving Asian teams, with 20 wickets in 10 matches. The spinner’s most recent T20I appearance was against New Zealand in November, when he was expensive, leaking runs at a pace of 11.66 and delivering statistics of 35 runs in three overs.
The India squad, captained by Hardik Pandya, will face Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series, followed by the same number of ODIs at home. While regular captain Rohit Sharma will not participate in the T20I series, the opener will play in the ODI series beginning on January 10.
It is worth noting that India has never lost a T20I series against the Lankan Lions at home. In any event, the two teams will be looking to start the New Year on a good note when they meet on January 3 at the Wankhede Stadium.
