Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra feels Umran Malik should play ahead of Shardul Thakur in the 2nd ODI against Australia in Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy International Cricket Stadium, on Sunday. India will be bolstered by the arrival of their regular skipper Rohit Sharma who missed out on 1st ODI due to family commitments.
Speaking on his youtube channel, ahead of the 2nd ODI in Vizag, the former Indian opener wanted India to play with five bowlers rather than opting to go with Shardul Thakur as an all-rounder. Shardul Thakur bowled only 2 overs in the 1st ODI and was not needed to bat in the 2nd innings.
“Is there any scope for a change other than Rohit Sharma taking Ishan Kishan’s place? My personal opinion – you might call it right or wrong – I always want you to play five full bowlers where you shouldn’t worry about the batting at No. 8,” Aakash Chopra said.
Aakash Chopra further stressed India to play with Umran Malik instead of Shardul Thakur in the team and added that team management might feel they require batting lower down the order if the top-order fails in some matches.
“Play Umran Malik in place of Shardul Thakur. That’s what I feel but the Indian team wants a batter at No. 8 for sure, and I can understand their thinking that sometimes the top-order players get out and you might need batting later,” he added.
The second ODI is scheduled to be played on Sunday in Visakhapatnam. It is still uncertain whether a full match will be played as there was consistent rainfall over the last two days. It will be also interesting to see whether India goes with the same combination as in the 1st ODI barring the return of skipper Rohit Sharma.
Need Bowlers Who Can Manage To Bowl At Good Economy Rate – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra reckoned that high scores are easily produced these days and the team might require bowlers who can concede less than 60 runs from their quota of 10 overs and added that it is more important to multi-dimensional players in the team.
“Even 350-375 runs are scored these days. So you need more batting at times in such situations because all bowlers get hit. This is one way of looking at it. The other way is that a good bowler manages to escape with 55-60 in 10 overs when others are getting hit for 80,” he concluded.
As the ODI world cup is scheduled later this year, India will have to sort out their team for the marquee event, it remains unclear what kind of combination the Indian team will play, with injuries to their top players Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant.