Former India cricketer turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the role of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s playing XI. His comments came after India’s loss in the second ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23 as well.

Following the game, Chopra shared a video on his YouTube channel, saying, “One change I personally want is Nitish Kumar Reddy, because it’s a big question whether we actually know what we want from him. Nitish Kumar Reddy is your future; as they say, future-ready. You want to future-proof your team, which is a very good philosophy. If Hardik is not playing, then what happens? Do we need two pace-bowling all-rounders in South Africa? I understand that. But at number eight, he is a batter all-rounder, not a bowling all-rounder. So at number eight, he doesn’t fit. At number seven, at least, he should bat. That way, he gets to bat higher up.”

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“In this match, he only bowled three overs. You don’t see him bowling more than three overs anywhere. He didn’t bowl in the Ahmedabad Test, nor in the Delhi Test, and here also, just three overs. These are the bilateral series where you can take a few more chances and test your players. I think Nitish Kumar Reddy’s role is still not clear to me, and that clarity is something I feel is still missing,” he further added.

However, Aakash Chopra also added that India are likely to add Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI for the third ODI as well.

“I feel that Kuldeep Yadav will play in the XI. Kuldeep Yadav is needed, especially on the Sydney pitch. I think you might see Harshit Rana sitting out, or perhaps one between Arshdeep or Siraj. One of them will sit out. I think it might be Harshit Rana who becomes the casualty. Although he has scored runs, which were very important, and has also taken two wickets, I feel that Harshit might sit out because India still needs a batter at number eight since the batting hasn’t gone well. So I see Kuldeep playing, and I don’t see any other changes,” Aakash Chopra concluded.