"You should consider if R Ashwin should be played at all" - Aakash Chopra on whether the off-spinner should be given more overs in Cape Town
Aakash Chopra feels Team India could consider leaving out R Ashwin and playing Hanuma Vihari instead of him in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Ashwin has picked up just three wickets across the four innings of the Centurion and Johannesburg Tests. That includes the last two wickets he took to finish off the Proteas' second innings in the Boxing Day Test.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked if R Ashwin should be given a few more overs in the third Test for him to be more effective. He replied:
"I feel you should consider if Ashwin should be played at all in Cape Town because even Hanuma Vihari will bowl the number of overs he is bowling. And Hanuma Vihari can bat better than him."
The former India opener added that R Ashwin could make way for Virat Kohli in the playing XI. Chopra elaborated:
"You go in with four fast bowlers and keep Hanuma Vihari as the fifth because you are scoring very few runs in the batting in any case. And once Virat Kohli comes, you will have to make someone sit out. So instead of Vihari, you can make Ashwin sit out."
"We have seen for a long time what performance Ajinkya Rahane has given. I believe when Virat Kohli comes in the Next Test match, he bats at No.4 and Hanuma Vihari bats at No.5." - Gautam Gambhir (On Star Sports)
Team India have a selection conundrum to choose between Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane as the No. 5 batter for the Cape Town Test. They would not have to take that call if they go in with four frontline bowlers.
"You are not needing R Ashwin's bowling much" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra highlighted that R Ashwin has not been penetrative with the ball. He explained:
"You are not needing Ashwin's bowling much because if you see the last day as well, in the fourth innings also Ashwin took just one wicket. If we see the fourth innings at Centurion, there also he had caught hold of the tail."
The renowned commentator concluded by saying that just being economical does not serve the purpose in low-scoring encounters. Chopra observed:
"So it won't be a bad idea to rest Ashwin here but if he plays, the number of overs will be dependent on the wickets he is taking. You want to contain but containment does not work in low-scoring Test matches, you need to take wickets."
I think India should look to play Two spinners in Cape Town youtu.be/wrHwX9gB48k
R Ashwin has been quite economical in the South Africa series thus far, having conceded an average of just 2.65 runs per over. However, he has been defensive in his approach and has not caused too many concerns for the South African batters.