Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra criticized Rohit Sharma for not using Ravindra Jadeja in the T20 World Cup 2024 match against the United States of America (USA). Aakash Chopra said Shivam Dube was allowed to bowl ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and added that he proved costly in that over.
The Indian team claimed a seven-wicket victory in the 25th match of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Indian bowlers restricted the US team to 110/8 after winning the toss in New York on Wednesday, 12 June. The Men in Blue successfully chased down the target with 10 deliveries to spare to advance to the Super 8s.
Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah surpassed their quota of four. Hardik Pandya also bowled his four overs and picked up two wickets for 14 runs. Axar Patel conceded 25 runs in his three overs. Shivam Dube bowled one but Ravindra Jadeja did not get a chance to bowl in the game.
The captain failed to get Ravindra Jadeja to bowl a single over – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra questioned why Jadeja was not given a single bowling. Chopra stated that Shivam Dube seems not to be fully prepared to bowl at this level.
“The biggest question is what is being done with Ravindra Jadeja. The captain failed to get Jaddu to bowl a single over. Even Shivam Dube was forced to bowl, although he turned out to be costly in that over and it seems he is not fully prepared .ready to play at this level,” Chopra said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator expressed concern over whether Ravindra Jadeja’s exclusion from bowling and failure to move up the batting order indicates a loss of confidence in him. Chopra emphasized that Jadeja needed opportunities to contribute with both bat and ball.
“However, by not giving a single step to Jaddu and then not getting him to improve the order, you saw that confidence in Jaddu was suddenly lost. The guy needed to score some runs and take some wickets in any case because this tournament is not “He hasn’t done well, he averages 125 strikes with the bat in his career, and you’re a little surprised if the captain doesn’t make you bowl too,” Chopra added.
Cleaned Jahangir off the first ball – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra praised Arshdeep Singh for his impressive bowling with the new ball in the first over. Chopra compared Shayan Jahangir’s dismissal on the first ball with his dismissal of Babar Azam in a previous T20 World Cup.
“Arshdeep Singh opened the bowling. First Babar, then Jahangir. Looks like he is cleansing all the Mughal emperors one by one. Who’s next? He cleaned Jahangir from the first ball and then cleaned another guy in the same way.”, Chopra further said.
Arshdeep Singh trapped American opener Shayan Jahangir in front of the stumps on the first ball of the match. The left-arm pacer dismissed Andries Gous on the last ball of that over. He got two more wickets in the death overs. He was named “Man of the Match” for his outstanding bowling performance.
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