Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Mohammad Shami has every right to be aggressive about his exclusion from the India squads for the white-ball tour of Australia. However, he shared that one needs to hear the selectors and team management’s version before passing any comments on his omission. However, India will face Australia in three ODIs and five T20Is, with the first game taking place in Perth on Sunday, October 19.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “Shami has been very vocal and has criticized the selection committee a lot. Again, every story has two sides. So you need to hear all sides. The coach, captain, and selector are not going to say anything unless you prod them and ask whether they have spoken to Shami. Whether they did or not, you and I will never know. The truth is that it doesn’t seem like the selectors are looking towards him. This is a reality. He has every right to feel aggrieved and unhappy. If he is happy with his fitness and selectors, for whatever reason, are not happy, it’s unfortunate, but nothing can be done. Shami will have to do a lot to make it back.”

However, Aakash Chopra also shared how Ravindra Jadeja would be in India’s radar for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa if Axar Patel had been preferred over him for the ODI series against Australia as well.

“Ravindra Jadeja is also on the fringes. I am thinking that if Axar is here, why would Jaddu be there in South Africa? You cannot say it now, although two-and-a-half years are left. So it is a little too early to really call something on Jaddu. However, since Shami is being ignored for such a long time, it seems like the team management and selectors have made up their minds slightly to look in a different direction,” Aakash Chopra concluded.