IND vs WI: Aakash Chopra Criticises Team Management For Resting Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli For The 2nd ODI
Updated - 30 Jul 2023, 02:45 PM
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Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra slammed the team management’s decision to rest senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the second ODI against the West Indies. Aakash Chopra highlighted that they took the opposition too lightly after the hosts struggled in the series opener.
Sanju Samson and Axar Patel were included in the lineup for the second match in Barbados, on Saturday, July 29. Hardik Pandya led the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma. The inexperienced Indian batting lineup failed to make an impact and was bowled out for just 181 runs in 40.5 overs.
The World Cup Is Not Too Far – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra stated that India’s strategy to rest their senior batters backfired.
“You might be wondering why Rohit and Kohli weren’t there. Was it because the opposition team collapsed in the last match? The West Indies looked extremely ordinary while batting first, so India thought they won’t play their main players, let’s experiment a little more. Could that have been the reason?”
“If that was the reason, even you could have got out in one match, that your team gets bowled out for 150, like you made 181 now. So should West Indies ask Shai Hope to rest as this Indian team is very weak? That doesn’t really cut it in my opinion because the World Cup is not too far.”
Ishan Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) provided a good start with a 90-run partnership after being asked to bat first. However, the middle-order batters struggled to score, and the team lost all 10 wickets for just 91 runs. The hosts chased down the target with six wickets to spare.
The cricketer-turned-commentator said that workload management can’t be the reason for resting Rohit and Virat, highlighting that they won’t play any matches before the Asia Cup 2023.
“The second point could be that players need rest, that a lot of cricket is happening and workload management is required. The truth is that there was one match in June (the WTC final), two matches in July that lasted seven days, and one ODI match. So you played eight days of cricket overall (in July).”
“There is no ODI cricket in the entire August, except the last match of this series, but I am assuming why will you play the last match if you didn’t play this one. You didn’t bat in the first match in any case. You will straightaway play in the Asia Cup in September. So the workload is not that much if you see it from that angle.”
The Men in Blue will take on the Shai Hope-led team in the third and final ODI of the three-match series at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on August 1.
