Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has suggested two changes to India’s playing XI for the one-off T20I against Japan. India recently won the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan by 3-0 while playing with an almost full-strength team.
Chopra wants India to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in place of in-form Abhishek Sharma, who scored a stunning knock of 108 runs off just 34 balls in the final game against Afghanistan. However, Sooryavanshi didn’t get a single game in three T20Is against the Afghans.
Sooryavanshi recently scored 192 runs in five innings of the Duleep Trophy while playing for East Zone. Furthermore, the youngster scored 151 runs in three games against Zimbabwe.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “See, once again, this is a match where you could think about resting Abhishek Sharma. We would say, ‘Let Abhishek sit this one out, it’s okay. You go and play in the Asian Games.’ We can bring Vaibhav in as an opener alongside Sanju Samson. I would expect this one change for sure. This is something you should definitely do.”
Chopra reckons India should rest Jasprit Bumrah against Japan as the opposition is not the strongest.
“Jasprit Bumrah is also part of the squad for the Asian Games. I wouldn’t play Jasprit Bumrah in this match. I’d say, ‘Come on, let the other bowlers play.’ I mean, you don’t want to put out your absolute A1, plus-plus team because the challenge coming from the opposition is not going to be that big.”
The former Delhi cricketer added that the pitch at Sano will not provide a lot of assistance to the bowlers.
“It’s a decent-sized ground, not a very big one. You may not have known this, but this ground has a hybrid pitch. A hybrid pitch is one that has some natural grass and some synthetic grass on it. Once you add synthetic grass, it becomes a much truer batting surface. After the ball pitches, it tends to skid a little, and this type of pitch also lasts for a very long time. It requires less maintenance, but it also offers a little less assistance to the bowlers. So, the reality is that there isn’t much seam movement, nor is there much spin.”
The one-off T20I between India and Japan will be played on Tuesday.
