Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has shared his opinion on Rajat Patidar’s performance in the ongoing Test series against England. He has scored just 63 runs in the three matches against England so far at an average of 10.5.
India They lead the series 3-1 and there is talk of Patidar being benched in the final Test against England in Dharamsala. Patidar was initially added to the team as a replacement for Virat Kohli after the latter pulled out of the series due to personal reasons.
Since scoring 32 in his first Test innings in Vizag, Patidar has not made any major contribution in the next five innings. His scores in Test cricket were 32, 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0. With Devdutt Padikkal waiting in the wings, it is quite possible that Patidar will be benched in the next Test match.
However, Aakash Chopra in his recent tweet said that since India has already won the series, they can give another fair chance to Rajat to give him one last chance.
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Aakash Chopra endorses Rajat Patidar’s selection in Dharamshala
“The last thing you want as a cricketer is for your poor form to coincide with the team’s poor results. The moment that happens… you are the first to take the blame. Rajat doesn’t like to try cricket like a fish in water, but since India has already won the series, he might have one last game in Dharamsala #IndvEng.” Chopra wrote in her recent tweet.
The last thing you want as a cricketer is for your poor form to coincide with the team’s poor results. The moment that happens… you are the first to take the blame. Rajat doesn’t like Test cricket like a fish to water, but since India already won the series, he could make it to a final…
-Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 1, 2024
Through his tweet, he sympathized with Rajat and talked about how he has struggled with the bat in the few innings he has played. He has scored over 4000 runs in domestic cricket but has not fully adapted to Test cricket.
Former South African captain AB De Villiers also backed Indian captain Rohit Sharma and the management to keep Patidar for the fifth Test. He said the culture of the Indian team could give him another chance in this series.
“Rajat Patidar does not have the series of his life or the one he will remember. But the good thing about this Indian team and its culture is that you will survive in that team because of the great cricket they play and the results they will get.” said de Villiers on his YouTube channel.
He further said that if Rohit and the team management believe in Rajat Patidar’s attitude, they would like to give him another chance in Dharamshala.
“If Patidar’s attitude is catchy and if he is a likable character in the locker room, Rohit and the selection panel will have the ability to say, ‘Wait, we think this guy has a future and we see him as part of it. the team advances. Although he has not scored runs, let’s give him a longer run.” said the former South Africa captain.
India has already won the series 3-1 and is second in the WTC points table. They will aim for a 4-1 series victory that could take them to the top of the WTC points table. New Zealand currently leads the WTC points table with a PCT of 75.00.
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