When asked about the team selection, significantly dropping leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who had a brilliant IPL 2021 season for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kohli explained that while it was a tough call, spinner Rahul Chahar got the nod ahead of his ability to bowl with some pace. He also clarified on seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's selection in the side despite a shaky IPL 2021 performance for SunRusers Hyderabad (SRH), crediting his tendency to be economical as the reason for him being preferred.