Aakash Chopra feels India has covered all bases for ODI series in South Africa

The former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opines that the selectors have picked a brilliant squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa. Team India is all set to embark on a gruelling tour for 3 Tests, 6 ODIs and 3 T20Is commencing on January 5. The 17-man squad was announced by BCCI on Saturday evening which was the perfect blend of experience and youth. However, Chopra feels that the team has all the bases covered and should do well in alien conditions in South Africa.

The Men in Blue have been ruthless in 2017 and have not lost any bilateral series across the formats. Moreover, they have set some unbelievable records in One-Day Internationals with the bat courtesy Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both have been extremely consistent and are topping the charts this year in terms of runs scored. India will bank on the duo to fire against the Proteas in their own den if they are to secure their first ever series win in the country.

Chopra analyses the squad

Aakash Chopra, in his segment for ESPN Cricinfo, has analysed the Indian squad picked for the challenging six-match ODI series against South Africa. The veteran felt bad for KL Rahul as he failed to latch on to his chances in the middle-order and is now being considered as a backup opener. “KL Rahul’s non-selection is due to the fact that the team management has already made it clear that he will be considered only as a backup opener and Ajinkya Rahane is already there to fulfill that role. Therefore, Rahul misses out,” he said.

“Besides that, every possible base has been covered. 3 openers, seven middle-order batting options, 4 fast bowlers and three spinners, so Indian team, the whole entourage is going to make sure that India does well. The conditions are going to be slightly different and so should be the tactics come the South Africa ODIs,” he continued. The 40-year-old also opined that the team should go with the five specialist bowlers and look at Hardik Pandya as the sixth bowling option on the tour.

“Currently, India is happy to play four bowlers and use Hardik Pandya as their fifth bowling option and that must change against South Africa where you would need a proper fifth bowler and use the young all-rounder as the sixth bowler,” the analyst concluded.