"Why else have you picked Kuldeep Yadav?" - Aakash Chopra says the wrist-spinner should renew his partnership with Yuzvendra Chahal
Aakash Chopra believes Kuldeep Yadav, being picked in Team India's ODI side to face the West Indies, implies his partnership with fellow wrist-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal should be renewed.
Kuldeep is part of India's 18-member squad for the ODI series against the Windies. However, the left-arm wrist-spinner does not figure in the Indian squad for the T20I series against the same opponents.
During a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Aakash Chopra was asked whether Kuldeep's selection meant 'KulCha' would be seen playing together. He responded:
"You should definitely see. Why else have you picked Kuldeep Yadav? If you have not seen him in one-day cricket for two years, then you want to play him. He has been in the cold forever since that Birmingham game where he got tonked around and then never got an opportunity."
The former India opener added that he would have picked Kuldeep ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin even if the latter was available. Chopra reasoned:
"They have got him back for the simple reason that they are not picking wickets in the middle overs. Ashwin- whether he was available or not, I would have anyway gone with Kuldeep."
Ravi Ashwin is unavailable for the series against West Indies due to undergoing treatment. (Reported by Cricbuzz).
Ashwin was apparently ruled out of the limited-overs series against West Indies due to an injury. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in this regard.
"You should definitely play Kuldeep Yadav all three matches" - Aakash Chopra
While highlighting the selection headache for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, Aakash Chopra wants Kuldeep to play all three ODIs against West Indies. He elaborated:
"But the problem for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid will be that you have picked Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar as well. They should start with Chahal and Kuldeep and in my opinion, you should definitely play Kuldeep Yadav all three matches."
The 44-year-old added that Ravi Bishnoi could probably be given a chance in place of Chahal towards the latter stages of the series. Chopra said:
"Chahal has come after playing three ODIs just now. So you can probably rest him after one or two matches and play Bishnoi but because you have picked Kuldeep now after such a long time, please play him all three games."
MOST ODI WICKETS FOR INDIA IN THE LAST 5 YEARS:
107 - Kuldeep Yadav
93 - Yuzvendra Chahal
Kuldeep last played for Team India in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka in July 2021. The 27-year-old has an exceptional overall record in ODI cricket, having scalped 107 wickets in just 65 matches.