"He has not gotten even 1 wicket till now" - Aakash Chopra says Team India can probably drop Avesh Khan for the 4th T20I vs South Africa

Aakash Chopra feels Team India can consider replacing Avesh Khan with either Arshdeep Singh or Umran Malik in the fourth T20I against South Africa.

Avesh has gone wicketless in the three T20Is against the Proteas to date. However, he has an acceptable economy rate of 7.90 and could have dismissed Rassie van der Dussen in the first game if Shreyas Iyer had not dropped an easy catch in the deep.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reflected on the possible changes in the Indian bowling department. He said the following about Avesh:

"Can there be any change in the Indian bowling? Avesh Khan - he has not gotten even one wicket till now. You can probably make a change here but if you want to make a change. Once again it is going to be a subjective call, about what you want to do."

The former Indian batter added that either Arshdeep or Umran could be given a look-in if the Madhya Pradesh pacer is made to sit out. Aakash Chopra elaborated:

"It's going to be an interesting one. If they do, you might hand a debut to either Arshdeep or Umran but if the team doesn't do that and they say they want to go with him (Avesh) only, don't really raise eyebrows, it's absolutely fine."

Avesh was the only Indian bowler not to pick up a wicket in the third T20I and was also the most expensive. The Indian team could opt to go with Arshdeep if they are looking for an effective death bowler. Umran is likely to be preferred if the Indian team management wants a potent weapon in the middle overs.

---

"Bapu is from here only" - Aakash Chopra on Axar Patel

Axar Patel bowled a decent spell in the third T20I [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra feels Axar Patel's familiarity with the conditions in his home state should hold him in good stead. He observed:

"Bapu (Axar) is from here only, he plays in this area only. He doesn't play for Saurashtra, this is Rajkot, this is not Gujarat, the match is not in Ahmedabad, but he knows these conditions very well and has done well in the last match."

The renowned commentator concluded by pointing out that the trio of Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel cannot be dropped. Aakash Chopra reasoned:

"Yuzi Chahal - form is temporary, Chahal is permanent. Don't talk about Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel at all. Bhuvneshwar picked up four wickets in Cuttack and Harshal took four in Vizag."

Harshal (4/25) and Chahal (3/20) were Team India's star performers with the ball in the last game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with six scalps, is the joint-highest wicket-taker in the series along with Harshal and has an exceptional economy rate of 6.41.