Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Arshdeep Singh after India won the third T20I against Australia at Hobart by five wickets on Sunday. Singh returned with impressive figures of 3-35 in his quota of five overs.
The left-arm seamer accounted for Travis Head, Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis. Thus, Arshdeep was awarded Player of the Match as he played a key role in restricting Australia to 186.
Chopra questioned the team management for not picking Arshdeep Singh in the final XI in the first two matches of the series. Singh was ignored despite being India’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
“Arshdeep Singh, play him and get wickets. We are talking about that. Now you have played him and he has picked up wickets as well. In fact, ‘Player of the Match’ performance. This is what Arshdeep brings to the table, and again, the big question is, why didn’t you play him for so long?” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator highlighted that Bumrah and Arshdeep are not often playing together, which is surprising.
“You are not playing him even after going to Australia and are sticking to your old plans. It’s not like you weren’t playing a batter at No. 8 always. When you won the T20 World Cup in 2024, Jadeja was at No. 8. Bumrah and Arshdeep used to play there. So what has happened suddenly that we can’t play Bumrah and Arshdeep together?” he observed.
Arshdeep was able to hit the ground running once he got his opportunity in the final XI and Chopra noted that it was a reminder to the team management to not keep a player like Singh out of the playing XI.
“This was a big reminder that you shouldn’t keep a bowler like Arshdeep Singh sitting out, and definitely not for an extended period of time. If the conditions are even slightly favorable for fast bowling, you should definitely play him. Even if they are not, but there are chances of dew, play him for sure,” he said.
The fourth T20I between India and Australia will be played on Thursday at the Bill Pippen Oval, Gold Coast.
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