WI vs IND: Aren't You Guys Worried About It? - Aakash Chopra Questions Need Of Excess Rest For Senior Players

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opined that a player needs to play as many matches as possible to get back into form and taking excessive rest doesn’t help the players nor the team.

Ahead of the T20I series against West Indies, reports emerged that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant were set to be rested. However, this didn’t sit well with Chopra, who questioned the need for multiple breaks.

“What is with all the rest? How much rest do you want? Earlier, when a player used to be out of form, he used to be dropped and picked again only when he scored runs in domestic cricket. But now whenever someone is out of form, he rests. Are you guys not worried about it? I personally think whenever someone is our of form, he should play as much cricket is possible.”

“When there were strict bio bubbles, there was no cricket for almost six months in 2020 from March to September. Next year again you play one half of IPL and then after gap of three-four months you played the second half. So it’s already a rest of ten months in 2-3 years. You don’t get anymore rest than this in professional sport,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

“Do you tell them that they are dropped just because the big players are available” – Aakash Chopra

Chopra believes that dropping youngsters after good performances will demotivate them and make them believe their role in the side is relevant only when the senior players are missing.

“It’s good that India keep on giving opportunities to players like Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson when the big players are rested. But what when these fringe players score runs. Do you tell them that they are dropped just because the big players are available now? Won’t they feel what wrong they have done?” he also questioned.

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