T20 World Cup 2022: "No one can hit from the pavilion" - Aakash Chopra on India not utilizing Rishabh Pant properly
Aakash Chopra has questioned the Indian team management for including Rishabh Pant in their playing XI but not utilizing him effectively with the bat.
The Men in Blue suffered a 10-wicket drubbing at the hands of England in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 in Adelaide on Thursday, November 10. They posted a total of 168/6 after being asked to bat first, which was easily chased down by Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, the two England openers.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra asked whether the intention of playing Pant was served. He explained:
"My question was why do you play an X-factor? Why did you play Rishabh Pant? You said this guy will destroy the opposition, there will be Rashid and Liam Livingstone on the other side, he will hit sixes, the side boundaries are very small. No one can hit from the pavilion."
Chopra pointed out that the dashing wicketkeeper-batter walked out to bat only in the penultimate over of the Indian innings. The former Indian opener observed:
"You didn't involve him in the game at all. He got to bat only in the 19th over. So how will he make an impact? You picked an X-factor but didn't play him. If you were not going to play him, you could have played DK (Dinesh Karthik) only."
Pant was made to bat at No. 6, with Hardik Pandya sent ahead of him. The southpaw scored six runs off four balls before he was run out while trying to steal a bye to give Pandya the strike in the final over.
"You could have played Chahal" - Aakash Chopra on Ashwin being sent out to bat ahead of Axar Patel
Chopra added that Yuzvendra Chahal could have played instead of Axar Patel if the latter was supposed to be sent to bat after Ravichandran Ashwin. He said:
"Then you send Ashwin to bat and not Axar. If you don't have to get Axar to bat and bowl, you could have played Chahal. These are very, very broad questions that are causing concern in my mind. Your heart might have also been broken."
Chopra concluded by highlighting that India missed the services of wicket-taking bowlers like Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah on a placid surface. The reputed commentator stated:
"Our bowling is good if there is help from the pitch, we pick up two-three wickets with the new ball and then we squeeze slightly later and win the match. But if the pitches are flat, which were there in Dubai, we couldn't defend there as well, it was the same bowling attack. We missed Bumrah and Yuzi Chahal."
How Yuzi Chahal- a certified wicket-taker in this format for years - missed out on playing two back to back T20 world cups will remain one of the greatest unsolved mysteries ever.
All the Indian bowlers were taken to the cleaners by the England openers on Thursday. Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya conceded more than 11 runs per over.