Former India opener Aakash Chopra has shared his views on the need for the current Indian Test side’s lower order to contribute with the bat. He also stated that it shouldn’t be compared with Virat Kohli’s era as well. He added that India had a more dependable batting lineup during Kohli’s leadership as well. However, he said this after England beat India by five wickets in the first Test in Leeds as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Firstly, any two eras are different, and let’s not compare the two. It’s not necessary that whatever happened at one time should happen at another time as well, especially when you are going through a transition. We might not have had that much depth in batting earlier, but there was a lot of pedigree and experience. You had a very, very dependable batting order.”
“So it was okay even if the tail didn’t wag. However, it’s not that it has never wagged. The need of the hour now is that everyone needs to contribute. It’s a two-sided problem. You also need to have the bowling that can blow away the opposing team’s tail. I would say stop comparing. It’s not that we haven’t lost Tests under Kohli’s captaincy. We lose under everyone’s captaincy,” he further added.
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However, Aakash Chopra also opened up on whether India should give chances to new bowlers like Anshul Kamboj, Yash Dayal and Mayank Yadav.
“Since you have taken these names, I will talk about them. Mayank Yadav is not fully fit. So how will you be able to invest in him? Yash Dayal is still a work in progress. So he will also take time to come. I do agree that Anshul Kamboj is next in line,” he said.
“I want you to ask Khaleel to play days’ cricket. Invest a little in Umran Malik because he has got pace. He has got something that most people do not have. Pace, either you have it or you don’t. We need to invest in the next line of fast bowlers and spinners because, suddenly, there is going to be a huge void,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
