"I will never keep that proposal in front of Virat Kohli" - Aakash Chopra on suggestions that the former Indian skipper should take a break
Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli should be the final authority to decide on whether he needs a break to get his mojo back.
Kohli failed to play a substantial knock in the first two matches of the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies. While he seemed overly aggressive in the first match, he nicked a catch behind the wickets after looking set for the long haul in the second game.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra had the following to say to critics who want Kohli to be rested:
"There has been a lot of talks that Kohli should be asked to rest, that you are not having a great time, take a break now also and if you like, don't play the T20s as well. I will never keep that proposal in front of Virat Kohli. It is fine if he himself says that he wants to take a break."
The former India opener pointed out that Kohli might want to spend as much time as possible in the middle to regain his form. Aakash Chopra explained:
"You are talking about Virat Kohli. It does not happen that a legend does not remain a legend because of slight bad form. When you go through bad form, we all have gone through that more compared to Kohli, you want to play regularly at times. You don't want a break."
It is questionable if Kohli's indifferent run is due to technical issues or more to do with the mind. Some time away from the game might do him a world of good if it is because of the latter.
"You cannot play Kuldeep Yadav" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra is also not in favor of Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi being given a game in the bowling department. He reasoned:
"Can there be a change in the bowling? You cannot play Kuldeep Yadav because if you play Kuldeep or Ravi Bishnoi in one match, you will not do justice to them as well. The players who are playing - Prasidh Krishna, Siraj, Shardul Thakur or Washington Sundar - have not played 50 matches."
The renowned commentator concluded by saying that Deepak Chahar instead of Shardul Thakur could be the only change in the Indian bowling lineup. Aakash Chopra elaborated:
"You have such an inexperienced bowling attack. Only Chahal is experienced and you had put his confidence down to the ground for such a long time. I will say don't make any change. Maybe outside chance is to play Deepak for Shardul but I won't be unhappy at all if you don't do that."
Expecting a different line up today. I don't think kohli will be rested, I see shikhar dhawan opening the batting and maybe someone like Avesh Khan or Deepak Chahar playing today.
Rohit Sharma had mentioned that the Indian team management will not rush Kuldeep Yadav into international cricket as he is coming back after a long break. However, with the wrist-spinner not part of the T20I squad and the series already decided, he could be given a chance in the final ODI.