IND v ENG 2025: “Sundar bowled one over; don't want to play any fast bowlers”- Aakash Chopra questions India’s selection
The 5-T20I series between India and England stands at 2-1.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed concern about India's team selection in the upcoming T20I series against England, citing it as a major factor for their defeat in the third T20I in Rajkot.
After winning the first two matches, India failed to seal the series, allowing England to win on January 28. Chopra believes India has not made full use of its roster depth, which has contributed to the team's erratic performance.
While Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma led India to victories in the first two rounds with individual brilliance, and Varun Chakravarthy shined with the ball, India has struggled to put together a cohesive team effort.
One of Chopra's primary worries is the underutilization of Washington Sundar, who has been playing XI for the last two matches but has hardly been given the ball.
"You are saying you want four spinners. Let me agree that you need four spinners, but are you bowling 16 overs of spin? You don't do that as well. You got Washington to bowl only one over. You cannot play someone for one over. It is bizarre," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Sundar has bowled just 2 overs in 2 T20Is thus far after he replaced Nitish Kumar Reddy in the India XI. Chopra questioned why India would pick a bowling all-rounder but not use him effectively in the attack.
Chopra expressed concern over India's reluctance to pitch a balanced pace attack despite having Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, and Harshit Rana in the team. He argued that India's team selection had been unbalanced, resulting in unnecessary vulnerabilities.
"I don't think we are selecting the right team. Arshdeep Singh was playing earlier and Hardik Pandya was there with him. Then Mohammed Shami played and Hardik was there with him too. It's not that this team doesn't have any other fast bowlers, but you don't want to play any fast bowler," Chopra added.
Chopra also slammed the Indian team management for choosing Dhruv Jurel in the Indian XI and then sending him to bat at no.8 in the Rajkot match.
With the series now at 2-1, India must fine-tune its playing XI for the fourth T20I in Mumbai on January 31.
