Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has opined that he won’t be making any changes to India’s playing XI for the semifinal clash against England. Varun Chakravarthy hasn’t been able to hit the straps in the last three games but Chopra squashed the idea of getting Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI in his place.
The mystery spinner returned with figures of 1-40 in his quota of four overs against the West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. Earlier, Chakravarthy returned with expensive figures of 1-47 in his four overs against South Africa. He bagged 1-35 against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 clash.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav had played against Pakistan in the group stage and returned with figures of 1-14 in three overs he bowled.
“The problem is that dew comes later at the Wankhede Stadium. You cannot play an extra spinner. I won’t drop Varun Chakaravarthy. He is still the No. 1 bowler in the T20I rankings. The last three games haven’t been good. He has not really been bowling that well, but good players know how to bounce back,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“I agree it’s the knockout stage and there will be no point in regretting later, but I am going to back my players to the hilt. Since we invested in these players, I am not going to drop Varun Chakaravarthy at all. There is probably a logic to play Kuldeep Yadav that the opposing players are unable to read wrist-spin, but I would definitely not be able to make that change,” he added.
On the other hand, Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has managed only 80 runs in six matches of the tournament but Chopra said he won’t touch the left-hander.
“I am not going to touch him. Actually this ground is also like that. The 135-run knock he played on this ground against England, that actually started a revolution, because even for that series, his name came because Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill weren’t available or you wanted to rest them. Abhishek Sharma got a last lease of life, and he scored a hundred in the last game,” he said.
Chopra urged the Indian management to back underfire Sharma against England.
“I am not going to drop him. You have taken him along thus far and he is still No. 1 in the T20I rankings. I am going to back him to the hilt. Other teams have been slightly scared after seeing Abhishek Sharma. So I am going to stick with him. I am not touching him,” Chopra observed.
India will take on England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday.
