Former India Opener Aakash Chopra feels that the Indian team management and selectors are going to have to choose between Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav as the preferred wrist spinner and between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja as the preferred spin all-rounder for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were the spinners for the Indian team in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.
Ravi Bishnoi is currently the No.2 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings and featured in all three games for India in the recently concluded T20I series against Afghanistan. He picked up two wickets at an economy rate of 10.18 in the series. However, Kuldeep Yadav, who was included in the XI only for the last T20I of the series registered figures of 1/31 in three overs. Ravi Bishnoi also bowled the second super over taking two wickets in it and helping the team to win the match.
Aakash Chopra reflected on some of the important decisions that India would have to make in the bowling front heading into the T20 World Cup. As for the competition between Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi, he said, “Who is our lead spinner between Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi as only one of them might get to play? Both might not be able to play together. If that happens, who will play in the XI? I think it is TBD (to be decided).”
The former India opener feels that India has not finalized their seam-bowling combination as of now. He explained, “We didn’t play (Mohammed) Siraj and (Jasprit) Bumrah. Among the three fast bowlers, only Arshdeep (Singh) has consolidated his position slightly because he bowled well in the first two matches. Mukesh Kumar saw both highs and lows, and Avesh (Khan) played only one match. So it is yet to be decided.”
Aakash Chopra Wants Deepak Chahar To Be Included In The Indian Squad For The T20 World Cup
Aakash Chopra also opined that
Deepak Chahar should be considered for the T20 World Cup by the Indian selectors. However, he acknowledged that his performance in the IPL 2024 would determine the result of whether he should be selected or not in the T20 World Cup. Deepak Chahar has the best T20I figures among the top 10 T20I
teams in the World.
Reflecting on the battle between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, Aakash Chopra noted that the former has always delivered the goods whenever he has been given a chance. He elaborated, “Axar Patel or Jaddu? Axar Patel hasn’t let you down even once whenever he has been given a chance. He has been absolutely consistent. He played two matches (vs Afghanistan), picked up four wickets, and was the Player of the Match in the second match.”
The reputed commentator reckons Gujarat spin-bowling all-rounder should be ahead of his Saurashtra counterpart, reasoning, “You played him five matches against Australia. He was the Player of the Match in the last two matches. He is economical, picks up wickets, and bowls the difficult overs. He bowls in the powerplay and bats decently as well. In my book, he is slightly ahead of Jaddu.”
However, Aakash Chopra believes that the Indian think tank might go with Ravindra Jadeja given he was the vice-captain of the team against South Africa whereas Axar Patel was not even a part of the squad. Ravindra Jadeja brings an extra factor of fielding which makes him the default first-choice player for the Indian Team.
