IND vs AUS: Rishabh Pant Will Have To Miss Out - Aakash Chopra On Team India's Playing XI vs Australia For 3rd T20I Series Decider

India will face off against Australia in the third and final match of the three-match T20i series at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday, September 25. Rohit Sharma and Aaron Finch are eager to win this game and seal the series.

The Hyderabad pitch is slightly tricky and winning the toss will be important for both India and Australia, chasing teams that won in the last two T20Is.

Rishabh Pant Will Have To Miss Out – Aakash Chopra

Former cricketer Akash Chopra feels that Rishabh Pant will not play in India’s T20 series decider against Australia. Speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of the match, he stated that India may go with an additional bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who played a lot of matches in Hyderabad.

“It is clear that Rishabh Pant will have to miss out. One of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar will come into the playing XI in place of Pant. You would want to play Bhuvneshwar and he has also played a lot of matches at this venue.”

The Men in Blue made one change in the rain-affected second T20I. The former Indian cricketer stated that if India wants to continue with Harshal Patel for the T20 World Cup in 2022, they should play Deepak Chahar over Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

“However, it is worth noting that teams can still make changes to their T20 World Cup squad until October 15. If India are quite clear that they want Harshal Patel in the side, they should then prefer Deepak Chahar over Bhuvneshwar for this game.”

Kumar had a forgettable outing against Australia, conceding 53 runs from his full quota of four overs in the first T20I. Chahar was benched for both the games. Pant returned to the team for the 2nd T20I but didn’t get a chance to bat in the eight-over-per-side contest.

Yuzvendra Chahal Has Been Leaking A Lot Of Runs – Aakash Chopra

Former Indian cricketer believes Yuzvedendra Chahal shouldn’t be dropped from the Indian team. The leg spinner has struggled for form in his recent appearances in T20 cricket. He hasn’t picked up enough wickets lately and has also proved to be quite expensive.

“The upcoming matches will be of utmost importance for Yuzvendra Chahal as he has been leaking a lot of runs. Furthermore, he also hasn’t been able to take enough wickets. But he will be fine as he plays more matches.”

“A lot of people would say that Chahal should be dropped here and Ravichandran Ashwin can replace him. However, I don’t think Ashwin is India’s first-choice spinner. Chahal is the first-choice spinner, then comes Axar Patel, and Ashwin is at number three.”

In the ongoing series against Australia, Chahal has struggled to make an impression with the ball, picking up just one wicket in two games with an economy rate of 12.46.

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