IND vs WI: 'The Depth May Not Be Really There': Aakash Chopra On India Fielding Multiple Teams Simultaneously In Future

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels the Indian team is not ready yet for playing with multiple teams simultaneously.

In 2021, two Indian teams competed simultaneously. Shikhar Dhawan was in charge of a backup Indian squad on a tour to Sri Lanka when the Virat Kohli-led Indian side was playing in England.

As they will always have 50 players on their roster at a time, Board of Cricket Control in India Secretary Jay Shah has stated that cricket fans would see a number of situations similar to this in the future. 

We Will Always Have 50 Players In Our Roster: Jay Shah

“I have had discussions with NCA head VVS Laxman and we will always have 50 players in our roster.

In future, you will have a scenario, where the Indian Test team will be playing a series in one country and the white-ball team will be engaged in a series in a different country. We are going in that direction where we will have two national teams ready at the same time,” Shah had told PTI. 

Aakash Chopra Cast Doubts On Depth Of Indian Squad

Aakash Chopra, a former Indian opener, cast doubt on this assertion and advised that it be taken with a grain of salt.

“Our Honorable BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had said that with the help of VVS Laxman, who is the head at NCA, they are preparing a pool of 50 players. With such depth, you feel proud as an Indian. But you need to take this with a pinch of salt,” he said on his YouTube channel. 

Chopra cited the 2021 tour to Sri Lanka, where a number of rookie players made their debuts, and claimed that it was a failure, with India only winning the ODI series 2-1 and losing the T20I series 1-2.

“India had sent a second-string side to Sri Lanka where the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad made their debuts. After whatever happened on that tour, we were very bullish that we would field two teams and win everywhere,” he added. 

Aakash Chopra added that in South Africa in 2022, India would have a reality check.

“But India couldn’t win a single game in South Africa in 2022. So suddenly you realized that the depth you are talking about may not be really there. That was like a reality check,” concluded Chopra. 

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