"Mavi will have to go if Arshdeep is available" - Aakash Chopra on India's probable team changes for 2nd T20I vs Sri Lanka
Aakash Chopra believes Shivam Mavi will have to make way for Arshdeep Singh if the latter is available for the second T20I between India and Sri Lanka in Pune on Thursday, January 5.
Arshdeep missed the first game of the three-match series as he had not fully recovered from an illness. Mavi, who made his debut in that game, returned figures of 4/22 in his four overs to help the Men in Blue register a narrow two-run win.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Arshdeep should replace Mavi despite the latter's game-defining performance in the first T20I, saying:
"Who will go out if Arshdeep is fit? Will the Player of the Match of the first game be dropped, as it happened in the second Test against Bangladesh? Kuldeep did not play there, will Shivam Mavi not play here? The big question is whether Mavi should be kept or left out. Mavi will have to go if Arshdeep is available."
Chopra believes neither Harshal Patel nor Umran Malik should make way for Arshdeep, reasoning:
"You will say why - because what is the long-term vision, there is a process. The process is that Arshdeep is the first guy. Harshal and Umran Malik are in this pecking order. If Mavi had come, Mavi only will have to go out, however unfortunate it might be. I feel Arshdeep will not be available, Mavi will play and do well also on this pitch."
Although Mavi was not the official Player of the Match in the first T20I in Mumbai, he was India's most successful bowler. The team management could play Arshdeep in place of Harshal, considering the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) seamer did not have a great game, returning with figures of 2/41 in four overs.
"Umran Malik is a player who is changing the combination" - Aakash Chopra
Chopra added that Umran's presence and Hardik Pandya's bowling with the new ball are changing the team dynamics, elaborating:
"The spin bowling was a problem in the last match and can be a problem here as well. There are six bowlers and when Hardik bowls well with the new ball, a spinner's overs are cut. Umran Malik is a player who is changing the combination."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Umran is performing the role spinners are usually expected to do in the middle overs, observing:
"Earlier you used to get the spinners in the middle overs. You used to try to squeeze and pick up wickets but here you have a player named Umran Malik who comes in the middle overs and picks up wickets."
Umran Malik not just spitting fire but also improving his line and length 👏
Chopra concluded by stating that he wouldn't be surprised if the Jammu and Kashmir speedster picks up three wickets in Pune. He added that the spinners are unlikely to bowl their full quota of overs if India get to bowl second again.
The Men in Blue are currently leading 1-0 and will hope to wrap up the three-match series on Thursday.