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'...it is not for the first time': Aakash Chopra points out worrying pattern emerging in Indian team
India are set to take on Pakistan in the Super 4 of the 2022 Asia Cup and it will be the second match of the tournament between the two arch rivals.
India won both of their matches in the Asia Cup's group stage and are now set to face arch-rivals Pakistan once again in the tournament on Sunday in the Super 4. While they would be a confident lot going into the match, there will be a key player missing from their squad.
The BCCI had announced Axar Patel as a replacement for Ravindra Jadeja for the rest of the tournament with the latter's recurring knee injury flaring up again. Jadeja has missed a number of series this year due to the injury and former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that this would be a source of significant worry for India.
"Jadeja's injury is disturbing news because it is not the first time. It is turning out to be a recurring injury and although you have Axar Patel as a replacement, can you afford Ravindra Jadeja's absence in the long run? He brings the balance to the T20I team just like Hardik does and can even bat at No. 4 or No. 5 if India wants a left-hander," said Chopra on his Youtube page.
Apart from the long run, India might face a selection conundrum against Pakistan itself. Axar Patel has played a number of useful knocks in international cricket but is not as effective as Jadeja is and the latter is also regarded among the fielders in the world.
"Will India make a couple of changes in Jadeja's absence? I am saying this because as good a batter Axar is, you can't send him at No. 4 if you want to neutralize Shadab or Nawaz. So you need Rishabh Pant. But then it also means there is no place for Dinesh Karthik. So you might see radical changes being made," he said.
