IND vs ENG: Aakash Chopra Excludes Kuldeep Yadav As He Picks India Spin Trio for First Test vs England

Former Indian cricket player and commentator Akash Chopra opines that Axar Patel is likely to secure a spot over Kuldeep Yadav in the starting eleven for the first test against England.

Team India is set to face off against England in the opening test of the five-match series on Thursday, January 25, at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

The Indian team has named a 16-player squad for the first two tests, bolstering their spin department with the inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav.

While Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin are the indispensable all-rounders for India, the looming question ahead of the first test is whether Team India will opt for Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel as the third spinner.

Here’s what Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel:

“What should be the team? Which three spinners should play? The heart says loudly to play Kuldeep Yadav because he is a wicket-taker but Axar Patel deserves to be in the playing XI. I feel the three spinners will be Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin.”

Aakash Chopra is of the opinion that the batting skills of Jadeja, Axar, and Ashwin provide the home team the option to include a specialist wicketkeeper.

“Interestingly, all three bat very well, especially in these conditions. So you have batters till No. 9. If you have such good batters, don’t expect too much batting for the keeper. If you get it, it’s good, but it’s not an issue if you don’t. Rahul Dravid has already said that KL Rahul won’t keep,” Chopra added.