Former Indian opener and now a cricket analyst Aakash Chopra believes the team must play both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in the upcoming three-match ODI series against England.
Kuldeep has been part of the Indian team squad but he hasn’t got his opportunities in the final XI.
The wrist-spinner from Uttar Pradesh played only one Test match against England and he also didn’t get his chances in the four-match Test series against Australia. Thus, Kuldeep has been unfortunate to miss out on the final XI despite being part of the squad.
On the other hand, Chahal took a beating in the T20I series against England, and thus he was dropped from the final two T20Is. The leg-spinner scalped three wickets in as many matches he played in the series at an average of 39.67.
Furthermore, Chahal was expensive as he conceded his runs at an economy rate of 9.92. The leg-spinner was predictable in his line and length and didn’t have the best of the series against England.
Furthermore, since January 2019, Chahal’s dip in form is a cause of concern for the team. Chahal has taken 18 wickets in his last 21 T20I matches at an average of 41.66 and a high economy rate of 9.14.
In fact, India hasn’t played Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal together as they don’t add batting depth to the playing XI. Ravindra Jadeja has grabbed his opportunities in the limited-overs format but the all-rounder will miss the England ODIs as he still recuperating from the thumb injury.
“You can try what you want in fast bowling but in the spin department, you should please play both Kuldeep and Chahal because if you don’t play them here also, then what will Kuldeep do. You don’t play him in the Tests or T20s, if you don’t play him in the ODIs also then what’s the point,” Aakash Chopra said.
Meanwhile, Chopra added that Shreyas Iyer will bat at number four and it would be interesting to note if the team will play both Rishabh Pant as well as KL Rahul in the final XI. Pant is in good form with the bat while Rahul had struggled to get going in the T20I series as he could only muster 15 runs in four matches he played.
“Shreyas Iyer will be batting at No.4. The big question will be if you can fit both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the team. Do it if possible but if not, don’t really feel bad about it. But for me the one objective is to win the series,” Aakash Chopra added.
The first ODI will be played today at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune behind closed doors.
