South Africa thrashed India by four wickets in the second T20I at Cuttack on Sunday (June 12) to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Chasing 149 to win, the visitors got off to a terrible start, losing three wickets for just 29 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaking havoc with the new ball for the hosts.
However, other Indian bowlers failed to step up to the plate as the Proteas rode on Heinrich Klassen’s 46-ball 81 to get over the line with 10 deliveries to spare.
Ahead of the third T20I in Visakhapatnam on June 14, which is a must-win for Team India to stay alive in the series, former cricketer-turned-commentator has opined that speedster Umran Malik can solve the home team’s middle-over woes although he didn’t advocate for any change.
"Can Umran Malik or Arshdeep be brought in? I am not going to advocate any change but if any change needs to be done, I will say Arshdeep, although no one has picked up more wickets than Umran Malik in the middle overs in the IPL. So you can get Umran if you want to address the middle-over woes.
"Arshdeep is ahead of Umran in the pecking order. But often when pressure comes, the team tries to go with different-different combinations. So it could be a possibility that Umran plays, it can happen in today evening's match," Chopra said in a video posted on his Youtube channel.
According to Aakash Chopra, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi can also be tried in place of Akshar Patel, who has failed to make a mark in the first two matches.
"Can Bishnoi be played ahead of Chahal or Akshar? I would say play him ahead of Akshar because leg-spinners' numbers are very good on this ground. A lot of runs are generally scored in Vizag but leg-spinners get a lot of wickets. Going with five bowlers can be slightly risky but what can you do, things are not working out," he stated.
Chopra further said that Ruturaj Gaikwad could make way for one of Venkatesh Iyer and Deepak Hooda as the all-rounder’s presence will give more balance to the team.
"Will you play Ruturaj Gaikwad now or think about one out of Deepak Hooda or Venkatesh Iyer? I will say give one more match to Ruturaj Gaikwad. If he doesn't do well here, then you may look for Venkatesh Iyer because he is also sitting outside," he remarked.
