Former India opener Aakash Chopra wants India to rest left-arm pace bowler Arshdeep Singh for the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Auckland. Stating that he has been India’s best bowler in the series, Chopra backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to retain his place in the playing XI despite his poor comeback to international cricket.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Chopra said: “I’ll do that. Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn’t really looked the same. This is a kind of very lukewarm comeback to international cricket is what we have seen so far. He has conceded a lot of runs. He’s not bowling the death overs at all. Always in excess of 40s. Touched 50 once in the three games that he’s played. But I’ll still play him. There is a temptation to play the better of the two, that is Arshdeep. But Arshdeep is going to be there for the ODIs as well. So maybe rest him. Series is already in the bag.”

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However, he has backed Mayank Yadav to return to the playing XI for the fourth T20I in case Arshdeep is rested.

“Play Mayank, play Prince. Because Mayank, the first game that he played, he was India’s exceptional bowler. The best bowler India had that day. First two overs, 11 runs, a wicket of Tim Seifert. So, he did well. But then he had to be rested for whatever reason. But now, if there is a possibility, he must play,” he concluded.