Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has suggested that India don’t need an extra spinner in their playing XI for the upcoming match against Bangladesh in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023. He also believes that Shardul Thakur is just making up the numbers in the team at the moment and is not playing any specific role.

“Looking at the history of the Pune track, we don’t need an extra spinner in the eleven. We have already spoken about Shardul (Thakur) not being utilized as a bowler fully. He seems to be just making up the numbers at the moment. There’s no specific role that he’s playing. So that’s an important question that the Indian think-tank has to answer. They may be faced with the situation as to whether they should play Shardul or give Mohammed Shami a chance,” Aakash Chopra said on his JioCinema show ‘#AAKASHVANI’.

Aakash Chopra also added that he doesn’t see Ravichandran Ashwin playing in the match, as spinners are hardly effective on the Pune pitch.

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“Or looking at the prevailing conditions, they may also ask themselves if Ashwin should be included in the line-up. Personally speaking, I don’t see Ashwin playing because spinners are hardly effective on this pitch. Also, the bottom line is we may keep discussing the likely XI, but the think-tank may field the same team that has played previously in the tournament,” Aakash Chopra said.

Aakash Chopra also spoke about the problems that Bangladesh is currently facing, ahead of the match against India.

“There’s a question mark over Shakib’s availability for the match. So, if he plays, it’s a good thing for Bangladesh. But if he does not play, it’s very bad news for them because their middle order has been struggling for consistency. They may promote Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the batting order and hope he succeeds,” Chopra said.

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It will be interesting to see what playing XI India goes with for the match against Bangladesh. The team management will have to decide whether to stick with the same team that played in the previous matches or make some changes based on the conditions and the opposition.