Asia Cup 2022: "It is a slight long-term loss for us" - Aakash Chopra on Indian batters not getting to play Shaheen Afridi
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that Shaheen Afridi's absence from Pakistan's squad for the Asia Cup 2022 is a minor long-term loss for India.
The continental T20 tournament will be staged in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. Afridi is not part of Pakistan's squad for the tournament due to a ligament injury in his knee.
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the left-arm pacer's absence could hurt India in the long run. He said:
"I was looking forward to the Round Two between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rohit Sharma/KL Rahul, that the contest will be enjoyable, but not to be for the time being. It is a slight long-term loss for us."
Chopra believes the contest would have held the Indian batters in good stead at the T20 World Cup later this year if they had gotten to play Afridi in the Asia Cup. The former Indian batter elaborated:
"Pakistan have an immediate loss that he is not available for the Asia Cup but everyone believes he will get fit before the World Cup. Our loss is that if we had played him two or three times here, then we would have been ready for the World Cup match, that we have played the guy three times."
Chopra added that the Men in Blue will now head into the World Cup encounter against Pakistan with unpleasant memories from last year. He explained:
"Now when we play against him in the World Cup, it would have been one year, memories will be still fresh and we would not have gotten an opportunity to play him in between, which in the longer run, I think is a bad option."
Shaheen Afridi being ruled out of Asia Cup takes the sting out of India vs Pakistan clashes in Dubai
Afridi returned figures of 3/31 in the T20 World Cup encounter against India last year. He dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his first couple of overs and returned later to get rid of Virat Kohli in the penultimate over of the Indian innings.
"Suddenly our batting feels a little comfortable" - Aakash Chopra on Shaheen Afridi's absence in the Asia Cup
Speaking about the Asia Cup, Chopra feels the Indian batters will be happy because of their nemesis' absence. The 44-year-old reasoned:
"Rohit Sharma has problems against left-arm fast bowlers, KL Rahul has problems against incoming balls, so if that option is no longer there, suddenly our batting feels a little comfortable."
He added:
"The start we did not get when we met last time in Dubai, we might not be left longing for that, we will be very good with the start the way we have been batting."
The Indian top-order batters have often been found wanting against left-arm pacers who bring the ball into the right-handers. Rahul's travails against the incoming delivery were also exploited by Victor Nyauchi in the second ODI of the ongoing India-Zimbabwe series.