"Kohli has won more than he has lost" - Aakash Chopra says he is okay with India not playing an extra batsman
Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli's excellent track record as a skipper validates his thinking of playing five frontline bowlers in Test matches.
Team India have won 37 of the 64 Tests they have played under Kohli's leadership. The 32-year-old also has the best win percentage among all Indian skippers who have led in more than five Test matches.
While previewing the upcoming fourth Test against England in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was fine with Kohli's five-bowler approach. He reasoned:
"Captain Kohli has said that he will play five proper bowlers. He has got that mindset. I am okay to live with it because Kohli has won more than he has lost. He has already become India's most successful Test captain. We have got overseas victories in his captaincy which did not come earlier."
The former Indian cricketer feels either Shardul Thakur or Ravichandran Ashwin will play the fourth Test in place of Ishant Sharma. Aakash Chopra elaborated:
"I don't see Ishant Sharma playing. If you are going to play four fast bowlers, Shardul will play and if you want to play an extra spinner, Ashwin will play. But the whole scenario will change if Jaddu is not available."
Ishant Sharma looked out of sorts in the third Test at Headingley and there were question marks raised about his fitness. The Indian team will hope that Ravindra Jadeja has completely recovered from the knee injury he sustained while fielding.
"I feel we have a lot of positives in batting" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra termed Cheteshwar Pujara being back amongst the runs, along with the excellent form of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, as huge positives for Team India. He explained:
"It was quite bad for India at Leeds but I feel we have a lot of positives in batting. Rahul and Rohit have always scored runs, if you leave one match for Rahul. Pujara's form is now back on track. 91 is a huge score and the manner in which he played, which is very very important, looked positive."
The 43-year-old signed off by stating that the usually batsmen-friendly Oval surface might get the best out of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant. Aakash Chopra observed:
"Virat Kohli, he has got runs although the big runs are missing and this pitch is absolutely ideal for him. Ajinkya Rahane - it is ideal for him as well. Rishabh Pant is a question mark but he has scored runs on this ground. So, this might just be the lucky venue for him once again."
While Kohli has averaged 24.80 in the three Tests so far, Rahane and Pant have an average of less than twenty. The trio will hope to make more significant contributions in the remaining two Tests, especially considering that the lower order is not renowned for their batting prowess.