"These are two big things that have happened" - Aakash Chopra on Venkatesh Iyer and Ishan Kishan getting dropped from India's ODI squad
Aakash Chopra has termed Venkatesh Iyer and Ishan Kishan's exclusion along with Deepak Hooda's inclusion in India's ODI squad for the series against West Indies an interesting development.
Iyer and Kishan were part of the Indian team for the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa. While the former did not set the stage on fire in the couple of opportunities he got, the latter did not get to play a game.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reflected on the batting lineup chosen for the limited-overs series against the West Indies. He had the following to say about Iyer and Ishan's omission from the ODI squad:
"Ruturaj Gaikwad is there in the ODI side. Venkatesh Iyer is not there - he has been dropped from the ODI side after two ODIs. There is no Ishan Kishan. These are two big things that have happened. Deepak Hooda has been called up for ODI cricket, that's an interesting one."
The former India cricketer was slightly disappointed with Iyer being sidelined so quickly. Aakash Chopra observed:
"Rohit Sharma comes and Ishan Kishan goes out, Deepak Hooda comes and Venkatesh Iyer goes out. I am slightly sad for Venkatesh Iyer because a decision on his ODI career has been taken too quickly."
Selecting Venkatesh Iyer on basis of 7-8 IPL games was absolutely wrong-Gautam Gambhir
#SAvIND #KLRahul
Iyer scored 24 runs in the two ODIs he played against South Africa and didn't look too comfortable while batting in the middle order. He bowled five overs in the second ODI but did not look too threatening.
"I am not 100% certain" - Aakash Chopra on Ruturaj Gaikwad getting a game in the ODI series
Aakash Chopra feels Ruturaj Gaikwad is unlikely to get a game in the ODI series against West Indies. He reasoned:
"Ruturaj is in the ODI team, will he get a chance? I am not 100% certain because Shikhar Dhawan will open with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul will now already go in the middle order and you anyway have Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pant in the middle order."
The reputed commentator added that Ishan Kishan might have to similarly sit out the T20I series. Aakash Chopra explained:
"Ishan Kishan is part of the T20I squad, Ruturaj Gaikwad is not there here. So Ruturaj Gaikwad might not get a chance in the ODIs and Ishan Kishan might not get a chance in the T20Is because the team is the same."
With the plethora of batting riches in the Indian squad, it might be difficult for Gaikwad and Kishan to make the playing XI. However, they might get a chance if the series is decided in the first two encounters.