Asia Cup 2022: "Make only those many changes that we can tolerate" - Aakash Chopra picks his Indian XI for Super 4 clash vs Afghanistan
Aakash Chopra has picked his preferred Indian XI for the Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 clash against Afghanistan in Dubai on Thursday, September 8.
The match is only of academic interest as both sides are out of the race for a spot in the final. The Men in Blue could therefore give chances to some of the players waiting in the wings in their final game of the tournament.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that India should not make wholesale changes. He said:
"It is a dead rubber because neither India nor Afghanistan can progress. Should India make changes, I will say what is the point? You are already making changes. Make only those many changes that we can tolerate."
Chopra pointed out that the two finalists have reposed faith in their players. Regarding Pakistan, he elaborated:
"Pakistan and Sri Lanka are at the other end, they are also playing against different-different opposition but their team is not changing. Pakistan have made just one change from the first match until now - Shahnawaz Dahani got injured and Hasnain came in place of him."
As for Sri Lanka, the former India batter observed:
"Sri Lanka have been playing with the same team for the last three matches. Once they made Pathirana sit out, after that they have not made any changes, they are also playing with the same team. We are making two-three changes in every match."
Team India were forced to make changes to their combination when Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the tournament due to injury and Avesh Khan was rendered hors de combat due to illness.
They also made some tactical changes based on the opposition, with Ravichandran Ashwin's inclusion at the expense of Ravi Bishnoi in their last game against Sri Lanka being a prime example.
"You can make both Hooda and Rishabh Pant sit out and play Dinesh Karthik" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra wants Dinesh Karthik to bat at No. 6, with both Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant being made to sit out. He explained:
"I will say keep the batting as it is. We are all saying that Deepak Hooda is an all-rounder but if you are not getting him to bowl, then don't play him. Actually you can make both Hooda and Rishabh Pant sit out and play Dinesh Karthik. You can go in with six batters."
I’ll choose DK ( Dinesh Karthik ) over Rishabh Pant In every T20 game . #INDvsSL
#RishabhPant
#DineshKarthik https://t.co/lDEfEu0mIH
Chopra picked two spinners and three seamers as his five frontline bowlers. The renowned commentator said:
"You can play Axar at No. 7. You can play Yuzi Chahal and go in with three fast bowlers - Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh. Ideally that would be my XI, where I want to see Axar and Yuzi Chahal play. You might play Bishnoi because you do that in every series."
Aakash Chopra's Indian XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh