Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has questioned India’s team selection for their match against the UAE, suggesting it reflected outdated thinking from the Champions Trophy.
“I think this playing XI has a Champions Trophy hangover. That was in March, and it was dusty. I’ve never seen that square as dry as it was in March in Dubai,” Chopra told ESPNCricinfo. “But this is September, and they’ve gone with the same tactic, albeit in a different format. Is that really the way India are going to plan? You have to pick your best team.”
India played only one specialist pacer in their first Asia Cup match against the UAE. Jasprit Bumrah was supported by other pace-bowling options – Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. They opted for two specialist spinners, Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav, while Axar Patel played as an all-rounder.
Chopra believes that India should have played Arshdeep Singh.
“Arshdeep Singh – 99 wickets. Arshdeep has better numbers than Jasprit Bumrah in T20s for India,” he said.
Arshdeep was picked in the Test squad for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England but did not get a game. The same happened during the Champions Trophy earlier this year. India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is- Arshdeep has a brilliant record for India. The left-arm pacer has played 63 T20Is, taking 99 wickets at an economy rate of 8.29, with best bowling figures of 4/9.
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