Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes the team management will need to choose one between Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel for the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder option in the team. Chopra reckons Patel is ahead of Jadeja in the pecking order.
However, the renowned commentator expressed his surprise over team management’s statement on Jadeja. Chopra highlighted that the team’s think tank is consistently saying Jadeja is an important player for them but they are not playing him regularly.
Jadeja was also rested for the third ODI against the West Indies at New Chandigarh on Saturday but Chopra feels the veteran all-rounder should have played as he needs game time under his belt.
“I would keep Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja’s names with a slash. However, no matter what they keep saying about Ravindra Jadeja, the truth is that there is a visible difference between what they say and what they do. We hear he is a very important member, but you are not playing him,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“You should have played him in the last match as well because he also needs some game time. In my opinion, Axar Patel is ahead in that race. I feel Ravindra Jadeja is falling behind. Maybe the selectors have already made up their minds. If both remain fit, Axar has run ahead,” he observed.
On the other hand, former Delhi cricketer said Nitish Kumar Reddy is not yet ready for the top stage ahead of the World Cup. Reddy could only take a solitary wicket in two games against the Windies.
“If Hardik (Pandya) isn’t there, or else if you need one more seam-bowling all-rounder with Hardik, this is where the real discussion starts. One is Nitish Kumar Reddy. He is ahead of everyone else in the race at the moment. Nitish Kumar Reddy is there, but he is not ready yet,” he said.
Chopra reckons head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill needs to ensure Reddy is fully prepared for the World Cup.
“We are not allowing him to get ready. How are we going to prepare? Preparing Nitish Kumar Reddy is Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir’s biggest responsibility. If we fail in that responsibility, the World Cup can trouble us a lot if, God forbid, something happens to Hardik Pandya,” Chopra observed.
India will next take on the West Indies in a five-match T20I series, starting Tuesday.
