"What will you gain from that?" - Ashish Nehra on whether Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube should be given chances in 5th IND vs AUS T20I
Ashish Nehra does not see any merit in giving chances to the likes of Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube in the fifth T20I between India and Australia.
With the Men in Blue having already sealed the series, the inconsequential final game will be played in Bengaluru on Sunday. Sundar and Dube are the only two players in the Indian squad who have not yet featured in the series.
During a discussion on JioCinema, Nehra was asked whether the duo should be played in the fifth T20I, to which he responded:
"Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube, the two names you have taken, are they a part of the team that's going to South Africa? Are you looking towards them? I don't think so. Still if you want to play them one match, what will you gain from that?"
The former India pacer added that players shouldn't be given chances just for the sake of it:
"That's the most important thing because you are talking about international cricket here. You cannot think that this player hasn't played a match, and although he is not in our scheme of things for South Africa, let's play him a match."
Although Sundar is part of the Indian ODI and T20I squads for the South Africa tour, it might be difficult for him to get a place in the playing XI, considering that a plethora of spinners have been picked. Meanwhile, Dube has not been picked in any of the squads for the multi-format tour.
"If not the entire XI, pretty much you will see 10 players being same" - Ashish Nehra
![Jitesh Sharma (above), Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar have played just one game in the series. (P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/12/543b4-17015755506115-1920.jpg?w=500)
Ashish Nehra doesn't expect India to make too many changes to their playing XI. He reasoned:
"You should have a thinking for every match, the way this series has gone. The way you have played, if not the entire XI, pretty much you will see 10 players being same.
"If you talk about Shreyas Iyer, he wants to score runs. Jitesh Sharma wants to be given more opportunities."
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the likes of Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar will want to be given more chances:
"If you talk about Avesh Khan, he has made a comeback. Mukesh Kumar is bowling well.
"When you are doing well, as a player, you want to be given as many chances as possible. You are talking about T20 cricket here, which is just a question of one-and-a-half hours (per innings)."
Nehra highlighted that none of the players will want to be rested that easily. He opined that it's going to be difficult for head coach VVS Laxman, as everyone will say that they are available.