Aakash Chopra names 2 changes to India's 2023 World Cup squad if he was given the choice
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is largely content with the World Cup squad the Men in Blue picked on Tuesday. However, he reckons there were a couple of areas where India could have strengthened by having more options.
He feels the Men in Blue need another wrist-spinner and would have picked Yuzvendra Chahal instead of Axar Patel. Chopra also feels that Tilak Varma could have made the squad over Suryakumar Yadav because of the former's ability to bat as well as bowl a bit of off-spin.
In a video on his YouTube channel after India announced their World Cup squad, Aakash Chopra said:
"The squad is good, but, I feel, there’s a lack of an extra wrist-spin option and perhaps an off-spin option. If I was given this squad, I would have picked Chahal over Axar Patel and possibly Tilak Varma over Suryakumar Yadav. But can criticize till 24 hours. After that it is our team, and we will back it."
Speaking about Tilak Varma, Aakash Chopra added:
"Only two of Ishan, Shreyas, and KL Rahul can play. So one of them as well as Surya have to sit out anyway. But I feel what if someday you’re up against an opponent having 3-4 left-handers in their line-up. You would have then loved to have an off-spin option which Tilak could have provided.
"They did take him to the Asia Cup and did think about having him, but didn’t really go on to commit to that decision."
Aakash Chopra on bowlers who can bat
Aakash Chopra said that the Indian team selecting Axar Patel over Yuzvendra Chahal and playing Shardul Thakur over Mohammed Shami suggest that they're looking for that batting depth.
However, he feels a bit strange that the batters aren't pushed to bowl for selection.
"They have picked Shardul Thakur because they will play him. They have decided not to play Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj together. Shardul has a stellar record in ODIs and is a wicket-taker.
"He goes for runs sometimes, but he is a genuine wicket-taker, and he can bat. We tend to pick bowlers who can bat, but we don’t ask the same question to the batters. We don’t necessarily pick batters who can bowl."
While Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj seem to be the two choices India want as fast bowlers alongside Shardul Thakur, it will be interesting to see if they find a way to bring Mohammed Shami into the scheme of things.