Aakash Chopra wittily responds to Vaughan’s prediction of India’s 3-0 win over England in ODI series
The three-match ODI series between India and England is set to commence on Tuesday in Pune. The visitors are missing a couple of their key players in Joe Root and Jofra Archer. While Root has been rested according to ECB’s rotation policy, Archer’s elbow injury flared up during the recently concluded T20I series. For the same reason, former England cricketer Michael Vaughan reckons that India will be the favourites to win the ODI series.
Rather Vaughan went on to predict that the Virat Kohli-led side will trounce England by 3-0. According to him, the tourists will miss their talismanic batsman Joe Root who was in brilliant form at the start of the Asian tour smashing two double-centuries in Tests, one each against Sri Lanka and India. Archer too did well in the T20Is also registering his best figures in the format.
Early One day series prediction …. India will win 3-0 !!! No Root or Archer … #INDvENG
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 22, 2021
However, former India cricketer and renowned commentator Aakash Chopra, in a way, didn’t agree with Michael Vaughan stating that the hosts are also missing some of their key players. India will play the ODI series without three of their preferred players in Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. With his tweet, Chopra hinted that the series will go down the wire as both teams will miss their important cricketers.
?? No Bumrah No Shami No Jadeja. #OnOn https://t.co/epcZlZNipU
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 22, 2021
Why are Shami, Jadeja and Bumrah missing?
The reasons for the aforementioned trio missing the ODI series against England are different. Shami sustained a wrist injury during the Australia tour last year and since then has been sidelined. He was last seen at the National Cricket Academy in February and was recovering well. Ravindra Jadeja too has returned to high-intensity training and is expected to play in the IPL 2021.
As for Jasprit Bumrah, the pacer took a break for personal reasons during the Test series against England. Later it was revealed that the reason was his marriage. The cricketer got married to the sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan on March 15 and at the same time, has been rested as well.
