'India should add him ASAP': Aakash Chopra names two new spinners for second and third England Tests
The first Test against England in Chennai was one of the rare occasions in recent times when the Indian bowlers did not perform as a unit. The result was a comprehensive 227-run loss. Even captain Virat Kohli agreed that apart from pacers Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, the two inexperienced spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Washington Sundar failed to be consistent with the ball, giving England batsmen easy opportunities to score runs.
After the unexpected defeat to England, questions were raised about India’s decision to play Nadeem and Sundar ignoring left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has been travelling with the Test squad without getting many opportunities.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra too joined in the discussion and named two spinners India should look at, going ahead in the series.
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Chopra said India should waste no time in including leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the Test squad.
“Slightly left-field thought/suggestion....India should look to add Yuzi Chahal in the Test squad ASAP,” tweeted Chopra.
The former India opener said keeping the bio-secure protocols in mind, if India add Chahal to their squad now then he can be eligible to play in the third Test which is in Ahmedabad.
“Considering that the bio-bubble protocols will take time....try to make him available for the third Test,” he wrote.
When asked by a fan about Kuldeep Yadav, Chopra said adding Chahal to the squad has got nothing to do with Kuldeep. In fact, the opening batsman added that Kuldeep ‘must’ play in the second Test, also hinting that it might not be a bad option to play both of them together in the latter half of the four-match series.
“Kuldeep should have played the first Test. Must play the second Test. Having Chahal in the mix has nothing to do with Kuldeep actually,” Chopra tweeted.
Kuldeep was the only member of the original Test squad who did not get a game despite being fit in Australia. With the injury to Ravindra Jadeja, it was expected that Kuldeep will start against England but India went ahead of Nadeem. Kuldeep last played a Test for India in January 2019 in Australia.
Chahal, on the other hand, has always been looked at as white-ball specialist. The leg-spinner is yet to earn a Test call-up.
