Yuzvendra Chahal Is The Only Legitimate Wicket-Taking Option In T20 Cricket: Aakash Chopra
Sep 14, 2022 at 1:52 PM
Aakash Chopra, the former India cricketer turned commentator isn’t pleased with Team India’s selection of spinners for the upcoming T20I World Cup 2022. Aakash Chopra feels among the three spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal is the only wicket-taking option.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Axar Patel are the premier spinners in the Indian bowling line-up, while spinner Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t available due to injury.
Aakash Chopra: Yuzvendra Chahal Is The Only Legitimate Wicket Taking Option Among 3 Spinners Selected For 2022 T20I World Cup Indian Squad
Since the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I World Cup 2022 has come out, analyses of the selected players and possible combinations have been coming in from former cricketers and experts. Aakash Chopra, former India cricketer-turned-pundit, has shared his opinion of the squad and there’s one particular area he isn’t entirely pleased with.
Speaking of the spinners’ selection in the Indian team, Aakash Chopra did admit that there’s variety in the kind of players that are available. But, he also feels that of these, only Yuzvendra Chahal is the player that is a pure wicket-taker.
“You have picked three spinners – an offspinner, a legspinner and a left-arm spinner. So you have picked different-different options but Yuzi Chahal is the only legit wicket-taking option in T20 cricket,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“The others are defensive options – make no mistake, that is the truth. You can see the numbers for the last 12 months, IPL included for both of them – Axar and Ravichandran Ashwin,” he further explained.
Yuzvendra Chahal, with 83 scalps, is the second highest wicket-taker for Team India in T20I cricket after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (84 scalps). The leg spinner was surprisingly omitted from India’s 2021 T20I World Cup squad.
However, Yuzvendra Chahal was far from impressive with the ball in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. He failed to create impact and was able to take only four wickets in as many matches at an economy rate of 7.93. Aakash Chopra said Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are defensive options looking at their record in recent times.
Aakash Chopra: Ravi Bishnoi Was A Tempting Option Available
Aakash Chopra feels Ravi Bishnoi, who was a part of the Indian team in the Asia Cup 2022, is a wicket-taking option but he isn’t a part of the main squad. Aakash Chopra said that he was disappointed to see Ravi Bishnoi only making it to the reserve squad.
“Ravi Bishnoi was a tempting option available to you. You are not thinking about Kuldeep at all, which is slightly disappointing, but he could also have been a wicket-taking option. But you didn’t think about either of them.”
“It will be very interesting whether you will be able to play two out of the three spinners in the XI. Will you be able to play either Axar or Ravi (Ashwin) along with Yuzi Chahal – that’s going to be a big one,” Chopra asserted.
Ravi Bishnoi has played 10 T20Is and has picked 16 scalps averaging an impressive 17.12 since debuting in February 2022.
On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav has featured in only 25 T20Is since debuting in 2017 and has picked 44 scalps at a stunning average of 14.02, and last played a T20I against West Indies in August 2022. Kuldeep Yadav has been in and out of the team of late due to injuries and poor form.
India’s T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Arshdeep Singh.
Reserves: Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar.
