Former Indian national cricket team and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Aakash Chopra has made a bold remark about star left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh’s place in the team.
Aakash Chopra said that an extremely talented coach like Arshdeep Singh should not be kept on the bench by the Indian team management and he should be allowed to play regularly for the team.
Arshdeep Singh named player of the match in Hobart
The left-arm pacer made his return to the India T20I Playing XI in the third match of the series against the Australia national cricket team at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.
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On his return, Arshdeep Singh delivered a stunning performance and sent a clear message to the Gautam Gambhir-led team management that he should be among the first Indian T20I names to play in the XI.
In the very first, he got the massive wicket of dangerous opener Travis Head, and in his second, he cleaned up star keeper-batsman Josh Inglis.
That was not the case as Arshdeep returned to bowling in the death overs and dismissed explosive all-rounder Marcus Stoinis after scoring 64 runs. In total, he returned with the figures of 3/35, for which he also won the Player of the Match award.
Notably, Arshdeep missed the playing XI in the first two T20Is despite being the highest wicket-taker for India in the format, and Harshit Rana was chosen to partner Jasprit Bumrah.
So what happened suddenly that we couldn’t play Bumrah and Arshdeep together? -Aakash Chopra
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that Arshdeep Singh has proven himself to be a strong player in the playing XI and should continue to team up with Jasprit Bumrah in the future. He said:
“Arshdeep Singh, play him and get wickets. That’s what we’re talking about. Now you’ve played him and he’s picked up wickets as well. In fact, ‘Player of the Match’ performance. That’s what Arshdeep brings to the table, and again, the big question is, why haven’t you played him for so long?”
“You don’t play him even after going to Australia and you stick to your old plans. It’s not like you don’t always play a batter at No. 8. When you won the T20 World Cup in 2024, Jadeja was at No. 8. Bumrah and Arshdeep were playing there. So, what happened suddenly that we couldn’t play Bumrah and Arshdeep together?”
It was a big reminder that you shouldn’t leave a bowler like Arshdeep Singh sitting – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra further said that the pacer reminded the Indian team management that he must be a part of the team no matter what the conditions. Chopra also highlighted that Arshdeep was the leading wicket-taker for India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where the pitches were spin-friendly. He said:
“It was a big reminder that you shouldn’t leave a bowler like Arshdeep Singh sitting, and certainly not for an extended period of time. If the conditions are even slightly favorable for fast bowling, you should definitely bowl him. Even if it isn’t, but there are chances of dew, bowl him, for sure,” he said.
“In T20 matches, I think you need fast bowlers for four overs up and down the tail. So you need eight overs of fast bowling. That means Bumrah and Arshdeep should bowl together in all conditions. The pitches were spin-friendly throughout the World Cup, but Arshdeep always bowled and he was India’s leading wicket-taker,” Chopra observed.
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