Ahead of the first T20I of the three-match series against South Africa, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli said that the team management will provide sufficient opportunities to the youngsters to prepare the right combination for the ICC T20 World Cup, to be played in Australia next year. He also added that the team was trying out the likes of Rahul Chahar and Washington Sundar as it was looking to bat deep and post 200-plus totals consistently.
However, former India opener Aakash Chopra reckons that excluding wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for batting depth won’t be a wise decision. Chopra said, “Chahal will be back. Rahul Chahar is more of a bowler and Washington Sundar’s batting at number 8 may not be needed anyway.”
At the moment, Chahal is only part of the ODI team while Kuldeep Yadav is part of both the ODI and Test squads though not a sure starter in the eleven.
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Talking about the same Chopra further added, “The idea is if you have that much depth in batting you bat a certain way. You can’t bat conservatively if you have that kind of depth. That is what England did. They focused on batting deep as they wanted to score 400 (in ODIs) and they achieved it many times. It looks India is wanting to take the same aggressive approach in T20s and there is nothing wrong in that. Now, they need to start showing the intent of scoring 220 consistently. Batting till 8, 9 and 10 is still ambitious (as you don’t need them at all in a 20 over game) but if you are trying to score 220 it is fine.”
Both Kuldeep and Chahal, who had cemented their place in the ODIs and T20Is with impressive performances over the past two years, have not been picked for two straight T20 series, including the ongoing home series against South Africa.
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Chopra explained that the wicket-taking ability can only be compromised if they are willing to score more. However, he foresees Chahal making a come back in T20Is in the near future. Kuldeep and Chahal’s inclusion has become a talking point just like finger spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
