"I have heard both Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma might not play" - Aakash Chopra on India's likely changes for 4th T20I vs Australia
Aakash Chopra sees India making a few changes to their playing XI for the fourth T20I against Australia.
The two sides will lock horns in Raipur on Friday, December 1. The Men in Blue, who are 2-1 ahead, will hope to seal the five-match series ahead of the final game in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the hosts are likely to make changes in both the bowling and batting departments. He elaborated (8:20):
"There is scope for changes in the Indian team. A little birdie told me that two or three changes might happen. One is simple - Prasidh Krishna might not play this match, either Mukesh Kumar or Deepak Chahar might play in his place. Mukesh Kumar has come back. He was bowling in the nets."
The former India opener added:
"Shreyas Iyer has come back and he will play. I have heard both Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma might not play. I cannot confirm or verify that, I have heard rumors. If they don't play, you might see both Jitesh Sharma and Shreyas Iyer playing."
Ishan Kishan scored blazing half-centuries in the first two T20Is but was dismissed for a duck in the third game. Tilak Varma was dismissed cheaply in the first T20I but has remained unbeaten in the last two matches.
"You don't want to keep Ishan at No. 6 and don't want to play Shreyas below No. 3" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra feels Shreyas Iyer's presence might force the think-tank to leave out Ishan Kishan. He reasoned (9:15):
"Shreyas could be batting at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4, then Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma. You might see a change in the batting order like this because you don't want to keep Ishan at No. 6 and don't want to play Shreyas below No. 3."
The cricketer-turned-commentator doesn't see India leaving out either Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad to accommodate Kishan at the top of the order. He said:
"So there is a possibility that because of one person (Shreyas) coming in, you have to make two changes. You neither want to touch Yashasvi nor do you want to move Ruturaj. So that's what I am thinking."
Speaking about Australia, Chopra highlighted that he has no idea about the playing XI they will field and the roles they will give to each of their players. He pointed out that the visitors have made wholesale changes to their squad during the series and that their philosophy has been unclear.