Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons Ravi Bishnoi played the third T20I against New Zealand in place of Varun Chakravarthy as Washington Sundar might not recover for the T20 World Cup. Sundar suffered a side strain in the opening ODI against the Kiwis after bowling five overs.
The all-rounder was then ruled out of the rest of the ODIs and the T20I series. Chopra believes the team management is playing Ishan Kishan ahead of Shreyas Iyer as Tilak Varma is going to be available for the T20I showpiece, whereas Sundar might not recover in time and thus Bishnoi was given a chance.
Bishnoi returned with impressive figures of 2-18 in his quota of four overs against the Kiwis at Guwahati on Sunday.
“India again made two changes in Guwahati. We had thought about Arshdeep resting and Bumrah playing, but we hadn’t thought about Varun Chakaravarthy resting and Ravi Bishnoi playing. However, he played and that tells me something. When Ishan Kishan was played and Shreyas Iyer wasn’t, it was an indication that Tilak Varma would get fit and come. That’s why it didn’t make sense to play Shreyas Iyer,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“However, now you have played Ravi Bishnoi for Varun Chakaravarthy since Washington Sundar is not going to be available, and that’s what I think, because if he was going to be available, they wouldn’t have played Ravi. Varun Chakaravarthy plays only one format and had a huge break after the last T20I he had played on December 19. So when he did well in the first two T20Is, play him the third as well,” he added.
The renowned commentator showered praise on the leg-spinner for his impressive performance in the third T20I. Bishnoi accounted for Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman in his fine spell.
“They played Ravi and he was outstanding. He picked up two wickets and conceded just one four. He bowled his four overs in different spells, one in the powerplay, and then the eighth, 12th, and 16th. I think he bowled 11 or 12 dot balls. So he has made a fantastic comeback,” he said.
The fourth T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
