"It seems Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not come to play the match at all" - Aakash Chopra suggests changes in the Indian bowling for the 3rd ODI
Aakash Chopra has suggested quite a few changes in the Indian bowling department for the third and final ODI against South Africa.
Team India go into the Cape Town ODI having already lost the series after coming up short in the first two encounters. Their bowlers, in particular, have been found wanting, with the lack of pace in the seam-bowling department coming to the fore.
Aakash Chopra reflected on the Indian team's likely bowling changes in a video shared on his YouTube channel. He had the following to say about Bhuvneshwar Kumar:
"I don't see Bhuvneshwar Kumar playing. In fact, I don't see him playing in the near future. He is looking a pale shadow, it seems Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not come to play the match at all and it is not only now, he bowled better in two or three T20Is against New Zealand, but other than that, if you see his performances over the last one year, the sharpness has not been seen at all, neither in the IPL nor in India matches."
The former India opener also wants Jasprit Bumrah to be given a break for the final ODI. Aakash Chopra reasoned:
"I will say you should rest Bumrah also in this match. If you are playing in 45-degree temperature, you cannot play three matches in five days, you need to bowl 10 overs. So you will have to drop Bhuvi and rest Jasprit Bumrah."
Bumrah is the only Indian bowler to have looked threatening in the two ODIs against the Proteas thus far. However, the speedster is likely to be rested for the final ODI, considering the hard yards he had put into the three Tests as well.
"You should play Siraj and Prasidh Krishna" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra picked Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur as Team India's three-pronged seam attack for the insequential final ODI. He explained:
"You should play Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Go with both of them, it's alright. It does not matter even if you lose, you have already lost the series. You should play Shardul Thakur. I am not a huge Shardul Thakur bowling fan in white-ball cricket but he does his job very well."
While casting his vote for Yuzvendra Chahal, the renowned commentator feels Jayant Yadav can play at the expense of Ravichandran Ashwin. Aakash Chopra observed:
"You should 100% play Yuzi Chahal and you can think about Jayant Yadav instead of Ashwin. Ashwin is not really a step for the future. I don't think you are going to invest in R Ashwin in white-ball cricket although his performance has been good in T20s. But I am very tempted to go in a different direction."
Gautam Gambhir said, "Bumrah, Bhuvi and Ashwin should be rested for the final ODI match, and changes in the batting order aren’t needed. Jayant should be given a chance along with seamers like Siraj and Prasidh". (On Star).
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Ashwin is unlikely to figure in the Indian team for the limited-overs series against West Indies. He pointed out that Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Chahal will be Team India's first three spinners for that series.