"You are shooting yourself in the foot" - Aakash Chopra on India's selection inconsistencies

Aakash Chopra feels India have been hit hard by inconsistent team selections in recent times.

The Men in Blue lost the first two matches of the ongoing ODI series against Bangladesh. The final game of the three-match series, to be played in Chattogram on Saturday, December 10, is thereby only of academic interest.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on some of the reasons for India's indifferent run lately. Regarding team selections, he said:

"Something which has been there for the last one year and I really hope that it changes is the selections that have happened for a long time. It defies a little bit of logic. If the selection processes are not streamlined, there is no continuity, if you are not regularly picking the correct players, you are shooting yourself in the foot."

The former India opener cited the example of Ravi Bishnoi to substantiate his point, elaborating:

"You might remember the Asia Cup match against Pakistan where Ravi Bishnoi played. He did very well and his previous West Indies series was also extremely good. The player was doing very well, he was in the World Cup standbys, but his name was not there when the T20 team went to New Zealand."

Chopra added that Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were also ignored for the Bangladesh ODIs after being picked for the preceding series against New Zealand. He observed:

"When South Africa came, there also Ravi Bishnoi played the first ODI in Lucknow but when we reach New Zealand and then Bangladesh, his name is not there. Yuzi Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who were there in New Zealand, their names are not there for Bangladesh."

The Indian selectors opted not to pick a wrist-spinner for the ODI series against Bangladesh. They instead went with Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed, with all three also capable of wielding the willow effectively.

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"You didn't play Shami for one year and suddenly you remembered him" - Aakash Chopra

Mohammed Shami was included in India's T20 World Cup squad after Jasprit Bumrah's injury.

Chopra highlighted India's fickle selections for the T20 World Cup, explaining:

"You didn't play Shami for one year and suddenly you remembered him. You actually didn't play Ravichandran Ashwin for one year, you remembered him also. You played Harshal continuously for one year, then when he became fit and you picked him in the team, you didn't play him because you didn't have the confidence that he will be able to do well."

The reputed commentator reiterated that India's selection policies have been questionable, stating:

"So either the idea is bad or the idea's execution. You will have to see the selection policies closely, that what are we doing? If we continue to chop and change, and the consistency is not seen, you suddenly start asking questions. The philosophy gets questioned."

Chopra also gave examples of Umran Malik and Kuldeep Sen's selections for the ODIs against Bangladesh. He highlighted that the two express pacers were originally only picked for the New Zealand tour and were added to the Bangladesh squad due to injuries to other players.