Aakash Chopra opens up on India’s batting options in SKY and Shaw’s absence
India is currently up against Sri Lanka in their fight of white-ball series. The ODI series saw the Indian side bagging it 2-1 in their favour and have kick-started the T20Is on a winning note too. In the meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw have already received calls from England as replacements and BCCI has confirmed the same. However, BCCI didn’t clear this as to when these batters will take their flights to the UK.
Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has stated in the same sequence that even if Shaw and SKY ain’t available for the next T20I of India, the team has enough batting options. India’s 2nd T20I was scheduled for July 27 but got shifted to 28th July as all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for COVID-19. It has to be noted that if Shaw and Yadav do not get to play the 2nd T20I, India has many options in form of players who have already made a mark in IPL.
Talking about Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Chopra feels that all are skilled enough to fill the void. Chopra also added that the current SL side is a struggling one at the current moment and their batters need to take more responsibility going forward.
Aakash Chopra opens up on India’s batting options
“If they (Shaw and Suryakumar) are available then I don’t think you need to make changes because you haven’t won the series yet. If they aren’t available, you have three options – Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Nitish Rana. You can play any two of these three players. They have enough experience after playing in the IPL,” said Chopra in a chat with ESPNcricinfo.
“This is a struggling Sri Lankan team with a few players suspended so this is all that they have. They will need to play differently and players like Avishka Fernando will need to convert starts into big scores. Asalanka did try his best but he alone can’t do all the work. These players will need to bat with more responsibility or else the result will be the same,” Chopra concluded.
