Former India opener Aakash Chopra opined on the recent Indian squad selection for the upcoming ODI and T20I series at home against the West Indies and pointed out a few anomalies. India's ODI and T20I squad for the West Indies series saw a plethora of changes in comparison to the recently-concluded South Africa series.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Venkatesh Iyer were dropped from the ODI squad, while Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, and a few others were included in T20Is and ODIs both.
Analyzing the India squad selection, Aakash Chopra questioned the absence of the likes of Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar from the team despite the fact that the duo was picked in India's T20 World Cup 2021 squad.
"The big takeaways are that the same selection committee had picked the team for the T20 World Cup and that had Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy. They have been put in cold storage. It was said that Rahul was not available for the last series but now there is no discussion about him,” Chopra said on his YouTube video.
He further mentioned that though Ravi Bishnoi was handed his maiden India call-up, he might not get a chance to play given the presence of Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Akshar Patel in the squad.
"Ravi Bishnoi is suddenly the flavor of the month and I really hope he gets the full opportunity and is not left out quickly like Rahul Chahar. But the squad has four spinners, so Ravi Bishnoi might not get a chance," he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Chopra was further impressed with the rise of players like Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar as pace-bowling all-rounders. But, at the same time, the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar from India's ODI team is a fact that the former India opener is considering a big takeaway.
"Fast-bowling all-rounders are being invested in. Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar's names in the squad are also being put in such a place where it seems they are considered as all-rounders and not just pure bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not there in the ODI team. It's an interesting one that five fast bowlers are there but Bhuvneshwar Kumar's name is not there in those five even when Shami and Bumrah have been rested. That's a big takeaway,” he said.
The India-West Indies series will begin from ODIs starting on February 6.
