Asia Cup 2022: "What is the issue?" - Aakash Chopra questions presence of only 3 pacers in India's squad
Aakash Chopra has questioned the selection of just three seamers in the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2022.
The selectors have picked a 15-member squad for the prestigious continental tournament to be played in the UAE from August 27. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan are the only three pacers in the squad, though.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the conditions in Dubai assist seamers at this time of the year, elaborating:
"My question is that the Dubai pitch and the September month, it helps the fast bowlers. There is a lot of grass on the pitch. The pitch does not change for the entire tournament; there is consistent help for the fast bowlers. We saw that in the IPL and have seen it repeatedly. So what is the issue?"
Chopra reckons Team India might be short in the seam-bowling department, saying:
"There are just three fast bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar had to be there. Jasprit Bumrah is not there - he is injured; Harshal Patel is not there - he is also injured."
Apart from the aforementioned pacers, Deepak Chahar has been named in the reserves. The Chennai Super Kings swing bowler is coming back after a long injury break and would want to prove his fitness in the preceding ODI series against Zimbabwe.
"Where is Mohammad Shami?" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also questioned the non-inclusion of Mohammad Shami in the Indian squad, wondering:
"Where is Mohammad Shami? I felt it could have been a race between Avesh Khan and Mohammad Shami, or you could have picked both because four fast bowlers are necessary in my opinion."
Chopra pointed out that the Gujarat Titans seamer has performed consistently both for Team India and in the IPL. The reputed commentator observed:
"But Mohammad Shami in my opinion, the way he has performed for Team India whenever he has played and in the IPL, especially the last one, with the new and old ball, I think he was phenomenal. If you can bowl like that with so much experience, I thought this opportunity was there for the taking."
Not best pleased to see Mohammad Shami is not in the Indian team for the Asia Cup, despite Bumrah's unavailability. Shami would be a massive asset in Australia, bowling hard lengths and seaming the ball. I hope he squeaks in ahead of Avesh Khan, when Bumrah is back.
Shami picked up 20 wickets at an economy of 8.00 for the Titans in IPL 2022. However, considering the plethora of seam-bowling options at the team's disposal, he's probably not in the Indian selectors' scheme of things in the shortest format of the game.