"Do you actually pick bowlers on the basis of their batting?" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal being ignored in favor of Axar Patel

Aakash Chopra has questioned Axar Patel's selection ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in India's World Cup 2023 squad based on his ability to wield the willow effectively.

The selectors announced the 15-member provisional Indian squad for the global event on Tuesday, September 5. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar are the three spinners in the lineup, with Chahal being ignored.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra wasn't convinced about the rationale behind picking Axar ahead of Chahal. He said:

"I feel there was a toss-up between Axar Patel and Yuzi Chahal. I understand you need batting at No. 8, if you have it it's fine, but what do you do if you don't have it? Do you actually pick bowlers on the basis of their batting?"

The former Indian opener believes the top seven should bat more responsibly to ensure that they don't feel the absence of a No. 8 batter. He stated:

"You can get depth by either having a batter at No. 8, or your top six plus Jadeja are in good form and they take responsibility and make sure that you don't miss a No. 8 batter. I will go with the latter."

Chopra pointed out that the Men in Blue have a formidable top seven. He added that there is enough batting and that they should back themselves to manage matches without a No. 8 batter.

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"Will Jadeja and Axar play together?" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal's non-selection

Yuzvendra Chahal has picked up 121 wickets in 69 ODI innings.

Aakash Chopra feels Yuzvendra Chahal should have been picked as Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are unlikely to play in tandem. He reasoned:

"Will Jadeja and Axar play together? They haven't played much together thus far and will you be able to do that because whether Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya is the captain, the philosophy is that a left-arm finger-spinner shouldn't be given the ball if a left-hander is batting."

The cricketer-turned-commentator doesn't see Axar playing too many games in the World Cup. He explained:

"So if you will be looking to see how Jadeja can bowl his 10 overs, how are you going to bowl 20 overs of left-arm spin in the middle overs? It's not going to happen. So only one of them is going to play, which means Axar is going to be sitting on the bench for way too long."

Chopra pointed out that India would have had the option of playing Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav together had the former been selected. He added that Chahal could have even been played as the first-choice wrist-spinner if Kuldeep happened to lose form or became unavailable due to some reason.