Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels Shreyas Iyer should be given his chance against Bangladesh in the Super Fours stage match at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Friday if he is fit. Iyer scored 14 runs in the group-stage match against Pakistan after regaining full fitness from his back injury.
Iyer didn’t get to bat against Nepal and he was left out of the playing XI against Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Super Fours stage after suffering from a back spasm.
The right-hander has performed consistently for India in the middle order but the race for slots is getting intense with KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan both grabbing their chances. Rahul has returned with scores of 111 and 39 since his arrival whereas Kishan scored a fine knock of 82 against Pakistan when the chips were down.
As India has already qualified for the Asia Cup final, they can afford to change their winning combination.
“I feel Shreyas Iyer should be played if he is fit. To be fair, he is practicing a lot. He has practiced the most, he is really sweating it out. I am pretty sure that he has recovered from back spasms if he is practicing,” said Chopra on his YouTube Channel.
“If he has recovered, he needs to play. However, if he plays, who should he play instead of is the big question you and I need to answer. Some people might get angry, but I believe you shouldn’t say anything to the small kids in the house. You should ask them to play because the elders are experienced and will adjust later,” Chopra added.
The reputed commentator wants the team’s think tank to rest Virat Kohli and add Shreyas Iyer to the final XI.
“The elders have already shown their form. I am talking about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. So if I have to play Shreyas Iyer, and I do feel he should be played, I will ask Virat to take rest, although he hasn’t played much cricket in the entire August,” said Chopra.
After taking on Bangladesh, India will take on Sri Lanka in the summit clash of the Asia Cup at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday.
