IND vs SA 2022: "I say give the 19th over to Deepak Chahar now" - Aakash Chopra names a new candidate to bowl at the death
Former India batter Aakash Chopra feels that Deepak Chahar could be an option for Rohit Sharma at the death.
Team India are facing a death-bowling issue, which has been amplified following Jasprit Bumrah's back injury that ruled him out of T20 World Cup 2022.
Deepak Chahar is one of India's finest exponents with the new ball. His ability to swing the ball both ways has been on show over the course of the last couple of years.
However, he has barely donned the role of bowling in the death overs when it comes to playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as for Team India.
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When conditions favored swing, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni often brought Chahar into the attack to complete his entire spell in one go.
But it is to be noted that the right-arm pacer picked up his famous hat-trick against Bangladesh in 2019 while bowling in the death overs, showing that he does possess the variations required to bowl at the back end.
Opining that Chahar should be explored as a possible option to bowl the penultimate over, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:
"The 19th over issue is turning out to be a real headache for India. I say give the 19th over to Deepak Chahar now, give him an opportunity, you never know he might end up bowling well."
Chopra added:
"Now Bumrah is not there officially, so who will play? I strongly believe that there should be two replacements in the squad for Bumrah."
Since the onset of the 2022 Asia Cup, the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah have all bowled the 19th over across various matches, but have failed to contain the onslaught by the opposition batters.
Chahar is currently on the stand-by list for T20 World Cup 2022. He has been touted as one of the candidates to replace Jasprit Bumrah in the main squad following his back stress fracture.
"There won't be much help for spin there, you need a good pool of pacers" - Aakash Chopra
Jasprit Bumrah's unavailability for the all-important tournament puts India in a state of concern, surrounding an already shaky bowling unit. The team are yet to name a replacement for the ace bowler, with a number of candidates to choose from.
The importance of having a well-rounded pace attack on the hard and bouncy surfaces of Australia is not lost on anyone.
It is to be noted that India's semi-final run to the 2015 World Cup Down Under was primarily down to the performances of the pace trio of Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma.
NEWS - Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
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Suggesting that both Shami and Chahar should be named in the squad in place of Bumrah, Chopra said:
"One of the replacements should have speed and that is Shami, the second one should be able to swing that being Chahar."
Chopra concluded:
"There won't be much help for spin there, you need a good pool of pacers."
Team India will play their final T20I before departing for the World Cup on Tuesday, October 4, against South Africa. Rohit Sharma's side have already attained an unassailable lead and are scheduled to play the series finale in Indore.
Should Deepak Chahar bowl the 19th over of the innings? Let us know what you think.