Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra outlined sudden chaos in the Indian cricket team and among the management as he questioned the logic behind sending KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel early to Australia. The decision was reportedly taken just a day after India suffered the humiliating 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand.
Contrary to the rest of the members of the Indian team, who will leave on November 10, Jurel and Rahul have already departed for Melbourne, where the will play an India A match against Australia A at the MCG, starting November 7. The decision was reportedly taken to offer them game time after they majorly missed the New Zealand series. Rahul played just three matches so far – two in the Bangladesh series in September and one against New Zealand – albeit with no luck, while Jurel did not make another Test appearance for India since his debut campaign against England earlier this year.
However, Aakash, speaking on his YouTube channel, reckoned that the move by the Indian team management, which comprises chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, not only outlined a major batting concern within the team in the wake of the loss against New Zealand, but also showed a bit of desperation among the authorities over wanting the two batters to score some runs and find form at the earliest.
The former India opener also questioned if BCCI announced the squad for the Australia tour a bit too early given that a late announcement could have seen the inclusion of Sai Sudharsan, who score a century for India A in the first match against Australia A last week in Mackay, which was preceded by a knock of 213 for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy.
“They sent Rahul and Jurel. But why? This means there is a lot of concern over India’s batting. If you think that there is not enough confidence in batting, then…I mean the team should have at least someone in-form. One more question is didn’t India pick the team for Australia a bit too soon? I mean, they could have named the squad after the series. May be that could have seen Sai Sudharsan in the Indian team, because he went to Australia and scored runs. Now they did not include him. Moreover, Rahul and Jurel did not get game time in India, so they were sent to Australia so that they can find form and score runs,” he said.
What about Sarfaraz Khan?
Aakash reckoned the move could also mean that India might pick either of the two to replace Sarfaraz in the playing XI for the Australia series, which will begin on November 22 in Perth. Notably, Sarfaraz replaced Rahul in the second Test match after scoring a majestic 150 in Bengaluru against the Kiwis, but since managed just 21 runs, including a duck, in two matches.
“If you ask me to choose between Rahul and Sarfaraz for the Australia tour, I will pick the former. And even between Jurel and Sarfaraz, I will pick the former. I really want Sarfaraz to do well, but I’m not 100 per cent certain that he would face difficulty facing fast bowlers in Australia. Maybe that is why Rahul and Jurel were sent early, and if they do find form, they could make the playing XI for the first Test,” he said.
