Not Picking Ravichandran Ashwin In Lord's Test And Inducting 4 Pacers In Playing XI Has Come Back To Bite India, Feels Aakash Chopra 

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that picking 4 pacers in the playing XI in the ongoing 2^nd Test against England has come back to bite the Indian team. Chopra also said that the pitch at Lord’s is getting slower and India should have picked spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the team.

India has picked 4 pacers in the squad in the form of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Ishant Sharma. For the spin option, the Indian team only has Ravindra Jadeja, who is an all-rounder and bowls left-arm spin.

In the 1^st innings, all the 4 pacers lost their wickets quickly, three of whom were gone for a duck. The tailenders could only contribute 8 runs in the end, which was scored by Ishant Sharma.

Picking 4 Pacers Has Come Back To Bite India, Says Aakash Chopra

Speaking on his YouTube channel, cricket commentator Aakash Chopra said that picking so many pacers have come back to bite India as none of the fast bowlers could bat. He also pointed out that Lord’s pitch is getting slower and Ravichandran Ashwin should have been part of the team.

“Let’s be fair, let’s be honest, the tail was too long. Shami, Siraj, Bumrah, Ishant – I mean you don’t expect a lot of runs. So it has come back to bite you because none of the four fast bowlers you played bat,” Aakash Chopra said.

“You have not played Ravichandran Ashwin and this pitch is getting slower. The edges are also not carrying and that’s another thing that is going to be a regular feature of this Test match that the pitch is getting slower and slightly lower. You need spin on the fourth and fifth day, it is almost certain,” Aakash Chopra further said.

After reaching 276-3 on Day 1, India were bowled out for 364 in the 1^st innings. KL Rahul (129) smacked a spectacular century in the match. Rishabh Pant (37) and Ravindra Jadeja (40) made some crucial contributions to the lower middle-order. However, the tailenders totally failed to contribute good runs to the team’s total.

James Anderson picked a five-wicket haul in the match, while Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood picked a couple of wickets each. Moeen Ali got 1 wicket in his kitty. While batting, England reached 119-3 on Day 2 with Joe Root (48*) and Jonny Bairstow (6) on strike. Opener Rory Burns scored 49 runs. England currently trails by 245 at the stumps of Day 2.