Aakash Chopra believes Virat Kohli should be the final authority to decide on whether he needs a break to get his mojo back.
Virat Kohli failed to play a substantial knock in the first two matches of the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies. While he seemed overly aggressive in the first match, he nicked a catch behind the wickets after looking set for the long haul in the second game.
Aakash Chopra Will Never Keep Proposal Of Taking A Break In Front Of Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli’s rough patch with the bat in the ongoing ODI series against West Indies continued as the former captain was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the third and final game on Friday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Virat Kohli left the first ball that was going outside off before trying to nudge the next down the leg side only to edge it to Shai Hope behind the stumps.
Virat Kohli ended the West Indies ODI series scoring just 26 runs which include scores of 8 off 4 and 18 off 30 balls respectively in the first two games. It is the second-lowest he has ever scored in a three-match bilateral ODI series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra had the following to say to critics who want Virat Kohli to be rested: “There has been a lot of talks that Kohli should be asked to rest, that you are not having a great time, take a break now also and if you like, don’t play the T20s as well. I will never keep that proposal in front of Virat Kohli. It is fine if he himself says that he wants to take a break.”
The former India opener pointed out that Virat Kohli might want to spend as much time as possible in the middle to regain his lost form.
Aakash Chopra explained: “You are talking about Virat Kohli. It does not happen that a legend does not remain a legend because of slight bad form. When you go through bad form, we all have gone through that more compared to Kohli, you want to play regularly at times. You don’t want a break.”
It is questionable if Virat Kohli’s indifferent run is due to technical issues or more to do with the mind. Some time away from the game might do him a world of good if it is because of the latter.
Aakash Chopra Reckoned It Will Be Injustice If Kuldeep Yadav Plays The Inconsequential ODI, But He Got A Chance Finally In The 3rd ODI
Aakash Chopra wasn’t in favour of spinners Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi being given a game in the bowling department, but he was wrong.
He reasoned: “Can there be a change in the bowling? You cannot play Kuldeep Yadav because if you play Kuldeep or Ravi Bishnoi in one match, you will not do justice to them as well. The players who are playing – Prasidh Krishna, Siraj, Shardul Thakur or Washington Sundar – have not played 50 matches.”
The renowned commentator concluded by saying that Deepak Chahar instead of Shardul Thakur could be the only change in the Indian bowling lineup, but he was proved wrong.
Aakash Chopra elaborated: “You have such an inexperienced bowling attack. Only Chahal is experienced and you had put his confidence down to the ground for such a long time. I will say don’t make any change. Maybe outside chance is to play Deepak for Shardul but I won’t be unhappy at all if you don’t do that.”
Rohit Sharma had mentioned that the Indian team management will not rush Kuldeep Yadav into international cricket as he is coming back after a long break. However, with the wrist-spinner not part of the T20I squad and the series already decided, he was given a chance in the final 3rd ODI.
Kuldeep Yadav made a return to the XI while Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, and Deepak Chahar are also included in the game. KL Rahul misses with a niggle, while Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two other outgoing players.
Shreyas Iyer fell on 80 while Rishabh Pant scored 56 as the duo forged a 110-run stand to take India out of early trouble in the third and final ODI of the series in Ahmedabad. The top-3 of Rohit Sharma (13), Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Virat Kohli (0) was dismissed early.