As Team India gears up for the all-important third T20I against South Africa, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has shared concerns surrounding the form of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. Not only has Chahal failed to make an impact with wickets, he has also proven to be expensive these past couple of matches.
The IPL 2022 Purple Cap winner who was expected to make a dramatic comeback to the Indian team has scalped just a single wicket in the two T20I matches against the Proteas so far in the series. However, in the 6.1 overs that he has bowled, he has conceded 75 runs and his discipline is being questioned.
With both spinners Chahal and Axar Patel conceding way too many runs in the middle overs, South Africa have taken charge of that phase of the game quite comfortably over the first two matches. Nobody has been able to step up and pull things back which might be a concern for Team India going into the third match.
While discussing some of the key aspects that have hurt the Men in Blue so far in the T20I series against the Rainbow nation, Aakash Chopra discussed about Yuzvendra Chahal.
“The biggest concern is that India is not picking up enough wickets in the middle overs.
Yuzvendra Chahal is our experienced customer, you look towards him. All of us said that it was massive injustice when he was not selected for the World Cup. But the truth is that he has conceded a lot of runs in this series,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
In complete contrast, veteran seam bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has provided the goods upfront for the team. He has been smart and decisive in the powerplay and has bowled tight lengths. Bhuvneshwar has also been able to generate swing in both directions which has resulted in wickets.
“The start is still good, Bhuvneshwar Kumar picks up wickets, but we have picked up just two wickets in the middle overs. It also tells you that our spin has not worked at all. Yuzi Chahal has picked up one wicket, Axar Patel has picked up one wicket, we have not really bowled well. There has been no potency in the middle overs,” the cricketer turned commentator further added.
