"Why did you play Washington Sundar?" - Aakash Chopra questions India's selections in BGT 2024-25
Aakash Chopra has questioned India's selection calls, especially playing too many all-rounders, in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. He pointed out that Washington Sundar was virtually not used with the ball in the final Test in Sydney.
Australia beat India by six wickets in the Sydney Test on Sunday (January 5) to complete a 3-1 win in the five-match series. Sundar wasn't used with the ball in the first innings and bowled only the final over in the second innings in which he conceded 11 runs.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener opined that the visitors' selection decisions contributed to their series loss.
"The selections should be questioned. There were some inspired selection calls, like Nitish Kumar Reddy's. The problem was the balance. We are so obsessed with all-rounders that we want all-rounders. We pick bowlers based on how they would bat," he said (5:45).
"We have a batter even at No. 8. However, barring Perth, when have you scored 400 runs? If you keep adding bowlers who can bat to protect your top order, it absolutely backfires. Washington Sundar is an asset but you didn't get him to bowl at all. He bowled just one over at the end in the entire match. Why did you play him? You are not playing him for batting," Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra noted that India should have played a fourth fast bowler in Sydney as it was a green pitch. He added that both Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy were primarily selected for their batting and that so many all-rounders are not required in a Test team.
"He was made to jump the queue" - Aakash Chopra on Harshit Rana playing ahead of Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep
![Harshit Rana picked up four wickets at an average of 50.75 in three innings in BGT 2024-25. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/01/e91a5-17360796851604-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra questioned Harshit Rana's selection ahead of Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep for the first two Tests.
"You made Harshit Rana make his debut. Prasidh Krishna or Akash Deep could have played there. I felt Harshit Rana was last in the queue but he was made to jump the queue, that he was their trump card and would do something special." he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator criticized India's move to demote KL Rahul to No. 3 and to drop Shubman Gill for the Boxing Day Test.
"Then the movement in the batting. We easily move Rahul up and down the order. You made him bat at No. 3 in Melbourne and Shubman was dropped. We were crying when Shubman wasn't playing in Perth as both Rohit and Shubman weren't there," Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Shubman Gill was dropped after only two matches. He added that it was the first time Rohit Sharma put himself ahead of the team.