Former India batter Aakash Chopra commented on India’s three pacer selection decision for the Asia Cup 2022 . India announced a 15-member squad for the Asia Cup including Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. However, the team banked only three pacers.
Chopra believes that the pitch in Dubai will assist the pacers and fast bowlers are expected to get consistent help.
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“My question is that the Dubai pitch and the September month, it helps the fast bowlers. There is a lot of grass on the pitch. The pitch does not change for the entire tournament; there is consistent help for the fast bowlers. We saw that in the IPL and have seen it repeatedly. So what is the issue?" asked Chopra on his YouTube channel.
This year’s Asia Cup will be played in UAE. The venues are Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh are the three pacers in the Asia Cup squad. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were ruled out of the tournament due to injury issues. Bumrah is set to miss the Asia Cup due to a back injury. Chopra feels that veteran pacer Mohammad Shami should have been added to the squad.
“Where is Mohammed Shami? I felt it could have been a race between Avesh Khan and Mohammed Shami, or you could have picked both because four fast bowlers are necessary, in my opinion," the 44-year-old former opening batter added.
Shami was in spectacular form in the 15th season of IPL. He picked up 20 wickets in IPL 2022 and helped his side Gujarat Titans clinch the IPL title in their maiden appearance.
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Chopra feels that Shami’s phenomenal past performance and vast experience should have been enough for him to earn a spot in the Asia Cup squad.
The Rohit Sharma-led side is set to kick off their Asia Cup campaign on August 28. In their opening game, the Men in Blue will be up against eternal rivals Pakistan. Defending champions India have been placed in Group A along with the qualifying team. Last edition’s runners-up Bangladesh find themselves in Group B along with Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
India have won the Asia Cup a record seven times. Originally, this edition of the Asia Cup was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka but due to the political turmoil in the island nation, this year’s Asia Cup had to be shifted to UAE.
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