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'Why would you do that? It's going fine': Ex-India opener slams criticism on team's tactics, makes huge 'Yashasvi' claim
Yashasvi Jaiswal didn't take part in the first T20I of the five-match series against West Indies.
Team India faced a narrow defeat in the first T20I of the five-match series earlier this week in Tarouba. The side put its faith on the opening combination of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, with the third opener – Yashasvi Jaiswal – being on the bench. This was Jaiswal's maiden call-up in the T20I squad; he produced an impressive performance in the Test series in West Indies last month, as he smashed a century on his debut in Barbados.
The Hardik Pandya-led side failed to chase a 150-run target in the first T20I, with only Tilak Varma looking impressive (39 off 22 balls), as the side faced a batting order collapse. Some of India's batting order decisions drew some criticism from fans on social media; while Sanju Samson batted at no.6, Tilak – the debutant – played at no.4. Moreover, many fans wanted the inclusion of Jaiswal in the playing XI as well but former India opener Aakash Chopra insisted that it's hard to make a place for the youngster.
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"Can there be a change from the Indian team's viewpoint? It has been a point of discussion that Sanju Samson should come at No. 3, and SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) should be moved to No. 4, Tilak Varma to No. 5 or No. 6 and Hardik (Pandya) at No. 5," Aakash said on his official YouTube channel.
“Why should you do that? It's going fine the way it is. In my opinion, there isn't a lot of scope for change. Only one batter is sitting outside, that is Yashasvi Jaiswal. You want to play Yashasvi Jaiswal but where will he play?”
The former opener further insisted that India shouldn't make a change until there are differences in surface condition.
"Should you change the team after one match, unless you see the pitch and it has a lot of grass, so you play all fast bowlers, or else it is an extremely turning pitch, so you drop a fast bowler.
“Other than that, why would you make a change in the XI? So if everybody is fit and available for selection, I feel India will play an identical team. I am not even saying almost identical. The team that played in the last match, the same team can play here,” said the former opener.
