Former Indian cricketer and commentator, Aakash Chopra talks about India’s World Cup squad. He specifically talks about omission of Yuzi Chahal from the squad. Chopra is disappointed by not surprised by the omission of Chahal.
Notably, the squad features a lone wrist-spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and left-arm spinners such as Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Aakash Chopra highlighted that having an off-spinner against heavyweight teams like Australia can prove to be crucial.
The cricketer-turned-broadcaster said,
“I’m not surprised by the team selection. But I am a bit disappointed that they haven’t considered the need for Yuzvendra Chahal. We can’t play Jadeja and Axar together. There will be situations where you face teams like Australia with many left-handed batsmen. And having an off-spinner option becomes crucial. Unfortunately, the team doesn’t have that now, and it seems like they haven’t thought about it thoroughly. I hope this decision doesn’t come back to haunt them in the future,”
In addition to this, Aakash Chopra spoke about team India’s batting depth and outlined the importance of a no. 9 player to be able to play crucial knocks, citing Pakistan and England as examples.
He adds on and says,
“In an ideal scenario, you want your No. 9 player to bat a little bit. This is a strength that teams like Pakistan or England possess. Our problem is that our No. 9, 10, and 11 can’t bat to the level where you can have confidence in their abilities. However, it’ll be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav in those positions,”
“Additionally, we need a strong No. 8, for which we have Shardul Thakur. Why do you need a batter at No. 8? This is when you have a player or two in your top six whose form can’t be trusted. That’s when you want a little depth. There’s merit in having four proper bowlers and playing Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya as two all-rounders. It should work with two all-rounders and a third all-rounder is a luxury,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
Aakash Chopra picks his top-4 teams
The 45-year-old has picked his top-4 teams for World Cup. According to him India, Pakistan, Australia, and England are favorites for the mega-event. He says, India been the host will always have advantage. He citied last 3 world champions are the host nations. The marquee event commends on 5th October in Ahmedabad.
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