Former India opener Aakash Chopra stated that he was left baffled as Indian team management opted for Harshit Rana over the highest T20I wicket-taker for the country, Arshdeep Singh, in the XI for the first T20I against Australia, just because he was a better batter.
Left-arm pacer Arshdeep is the only Indian bowler to have taken over 100 wickets in T20Is—101 in 65 matches. However, for the first T20Is, the team management, led by Gautam Gambhir, who prefers depth in batting in limited-overs formats, chose Harshit Rana over Arshdeep because he could tonk a few balls with the bat.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra was baffled by Arshdeep's omission in the first T20I.
"It's quite baffling that India's highest T20I wicket-taker can't find a place in the playing XI—even in Australia. Of course, it didn't happen in the UAE for the Asia Cup. What are the chances of him playing in the World Cup? That's the first thought that crosses the mind. The biggest takeaway is the philosophy with which this team has been playing for a while—that you need somebody who can bat at No. 8," Aakash Chopra said on ESPNCricinfo.
Harshit Rana showed his batting prowess in the second ODI against Australia, scoring a quick 24* to take India to a decent score. He then picked his career best of 4/39 in the third ODI in Sydney, helping India win the game to avoid the whitewash.
"In this case, Harshit Rana was picked ahead of Arshdeep Singh not because of his bowling ability, but just because of his batting. You could possibly understand if there were a better, more capable batter playing at No. 8. But the sample size we have of Harshit Rana's batting ability is not big enough to actually suggest that he is a batter who can deliver regularly at No. 8. Harshit Rana doesn't fit the bill yet,” he stated.
India was asked to bat first by Australia in the first T20I in Canberra, but their innings was marred by repeated rain interruptions. Abhishek Sharma was the only Indian wicket to fall, scoring 19 in 14 balls with four fours to his name.
India made 97/1 in 9.4 overs when the game was called off for good, as Shubman Gill made 37* in 20 balls with four fours and one six, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav made 39* in 24 balls with three fours and two sixes.
(PTI inputs)
