Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has highlighted a major worry for the Indian cricket team ahead of the Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion.
He has mentioned that India has been doing well in recent years due to their openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s consistent performances, but this time on the crucial tour, they don’t have that pair and it could be a problem for the tourists in the upcoming three-match Test series in South Africa.
Team India has already won twice in Australia and produced a phenomenal show in England, and now they are gearing up for their quest to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa. In Rohit’s absence, Mayank Agarwal is expected to open with Rahul, and Chopra is excited to see how things go on.
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Chopra said on his official YouTube channel: “Opening didn’t work out very well. If openers don’t do well, the team doesn’t do well. We did well in England because Rahul and Rohit were consistent; here, we don’t have that, which could be a problem.”
He continued, “Now, Mayank will open with Rahul. Both started their India journey in the Boxing Day Tests and now they’re back. In between, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Prithvi Shaw all opened for the side. So it’s phenomenal how the world changes, really.”
The cricket analyst also recalled India’s last tour of South Africa in 2018 when, except for Virat Kohli, no other Indian batter could deliver against the Proteas attack led by Vernon Philander.
He added, “Last time (in South Africa), our highest run-scorer was Virat Kohli. He scored 286 runs at an average of 47. But there was no one else who scored runs and that was the main issue. If you don’t bat four or five sessions, it becomes difficult to win. Last time, India couldn’t even play three properly.”
Chopra, on the other hand, believes that India's balanced pace attack, which includes Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj, will exploit the South African conditions well in the upcoming Test series.
The former opener added, “Among bowlers, Philander was the top wicket-taker alongside Shami and Rabada. Bumrah had his debut series and returned with 14 wickets. The key performers are still there; in fact, we also have Siraj in the team now.”
Well, Chopra remains worried about India’s batting as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are already out of form, while the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is not there either for the Test series.
He signed off by saying, “India played good in Australia and England. But we are struggling in batting which is my biggest worry. We don’t have Axar or Jadeja (in lower-middle order) or Rohit (in opening order). Rahane doesn’t have the form and Pujara hasn’t been consistent as well.”
