"There is no clarity" - Aakash Chopra surprised by Priyank Panchal's selection ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran

Aakash Chopra is surprised by Priyank Panchal's selection ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran as Rohit Sharma's replacement in India's Test side for the South Africa tour.

Sharma has been ruled out of the Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. The selectors opted to pick Panchal as the recently appointed Test vice-captain's replacement.

Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the selectors seem to be playing a game of musical chairs. He elaborated:

"Abhimanyu Easwaran had gone to England. He was a part of the Indian team and was kept as the backup opener. But now he is not the backup opener. It is like Akkad bakkad bambe bo - that's the feeling that you get because there is no clarity."

The former India opener was taken aback by the selectors' call to pick Priyank Panchal. Chopra said:

"There is a twist in the story, that begs a question to be asked that what is happening in this world? Now it seems Priyank Panchal is the backup opener, which is surprising."

Panchal captained the India A side in the first two matches of the recently concluded unofficial Test series against their South African counterparts. He scored 120 runs in the three innings he played, with a top score of 96.

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"Priyank Panchal is not a bad choice" - Aakash Chopra

Priyank Panchal has played 100 first-class matches

However, Aakash Chopra did acknowledge that Panchal has not been selected out of the blue. He explained:

"Let me be honest, Priyank Panchal is not a bad choice - in fact when you saw Rohit Sharma playing as a Test opener, then also there was supposed to be a choice Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran but then Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri thought of opening with Rohit. Rohit started to open and Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran didn't get a chance at all."

The cricketer-turned-commentator also questioned the selectors for picking Jayant Yadav ahead of Washington Sundar. Chopra stated:

"Jayant Yadav is in the side although Washington Sundar has started playing but no one is talking about him, because Washington Sundar was the guy when you were celebrating the Gabba victory. He had made runs there and took wickets as well and did well in India also after that but he is not on the radar at all."

Sundar has just made a return to competitive cricket in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu. With the spin-bowling all-rounder coming back after a long injury layoff, the selectors might not have been sure of his ability to bowl extended spells in the longest format of the game.