Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy in the first T20I against Afghanistan. He also added that Shivam Dube was bound to get hit if he came in the attack in the final over of the innings as well. Although Dube went wicketless and conceded 21 runs in the only over he bowled, India restricted Afghanistan to 156/8 in Delhi on Sunday, September 13 as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “A slight flaw is being seen in India’s T20 cricket, and probably Shreyas Iyer’s tactic is also being seen. Since Hardik isn’t there, who is the fifth bowler? You got Nitish Kumar Reddy to bowl, made Abhishek Sharma bowl an over, and you made Shivam Dube bowl an over, but that Shivam Dube over was the 20th over.”
“If you are going to give him the 20th over, he will get hit, and it happened here as well – 21 runs. In fact, our fifth bowler conceded 59 runs in four overs. If your fifth bowler is conceding 15 an over, this is a potential problem. Half the things get sorted out as soon as Hardik comes. However, Shreyas Iyer holding an over back until the last over – we will find out over a period of time how good that tactic is, but there is a slight problem for sure,” he further added.
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Reflecting on the other Indian bowlers in the same video, Aakash Chopra applauded Jasprit Bumrah for dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over.
“Afghanistan thought they could do what Ireland did to India, but that thinking was dashed as they lost wickets one after the other. Jasprit Bumrah came and got an outside edge in the first over itself, and the guy was sent out. Rahmanullah Gurbaz going out was a massive blow,” he said.
“At one stage, they were 43/5. The situation was very bad. Whoever was coming was going. Arshdeep was once again accurate and amongst the wickets. Then when Axar Patel and Varun Chakaravarthy came, they also picked up a wicket apiece. It didn’t seem like Afghanistan were able to make the match, but then there was a partnership. Azmatullah Omarzai hit a half-century and Mohammad Nabi scored runs,” he concluded.
