World Cup 2023 | Aakash Chopra Wants Shami Over Shardul For IND vs PAK Clash
Indian coach Rahul Dravid with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj (x.com)
Team India, despite Shubman Gill’s illness-prone absence, seems to have sorted out their 2023 World Cup playing XI woes as they handed out comprehensive trouncing to Australia and Afghanistan in successive games with minimal changes.
The bowling attack clicked together in both Indian fixtures, with the ‘Men in Blue’ skittling out the Australians for just 199 in Chennai and limiting Afghanistan to a mere 272 on a high-scoring Delhi surface next up. However, India’s pace ace Mohammad Shami is yet to find a place in the playing XI despite his recent run of success across formats.
With the Indian team slated to go up against arch-rivals Pakistan in their subsequent World Cup 2023 challenge, several cricket experts, including former Test opener Aakash Chopra believes that the team management should field Shami against Pakistan’s famed batting line-up in Ahmedabad.
Chopra wants Mohammed Shami at the expense of Shardul Thakur
Speaking in a Conclave organised by OneCricket, Aakash Chopra said that the Indian team management should make a slight change in their playing XI for their forthcoming Pakistan clash. According to the former Indian cricketer, the management should drop all-rounder Shardul Thakur from the line-up to make way for in-form speedster Mohammed Shami to unleash a three-pronged pace attack on Pakistan alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
Chopra stated that even though Thakur’s presence provides an additional batting option in the lower-order for India, Shami has proven himself to be a lethal exponent with the ball in Ahmedabad under lights, especially during his time with Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Speaking with OneCricket, Aakash Chopra said:
“I believe the team management should make a change because I want Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj to play together against Pakistan. Shardul Thakur, I believe will not be required even though his lower-order batting ability is essential for teams in modern-day ODI cricket.”
“If there’s a toss-up between Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur, I will go with Shami because of multiple reasons. For starters, the match is in Ahmedabad and the opponent is an Asian team. If Team India gets to bowl under lights, we have seen what Shami has done for Gujarat Titans in IPL matches.”
The potential World Cup 2023 blockbuster clash will be played on October 14 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Both teams will enter the battlefield off the back of two confident wins in their first two matches of the competition.
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