Arshdeep Singh would’ve been my first choice in place of Avesh Khan: Ashish Nehra

The Indian side lost their opening T20I match against South Africa by seven wickets on Thursday. The bowlers came under scrutiny for failing to defend 212 runs target at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi. Indian bowlers managed to take only three wickets, with no bowler keeping an economy rate below 8.50. Meanwhile, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra reckons Arshdeep Singh should have been selected ahead of Avesh Khan.

Notably, India fielded only three specialist pacers due to the return of Hardik Pandya in the starting eleven. Bhuvneshwar Kumar impressed everyone in his first two powerplay overs by taking Temba Bavuma’s wicket and giving away just seven runs. But Hardik Pandya gave 18 runs in the fifth over, and momentum shifted towards South Africa. David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen then scored unbeaten fifties to guide the visiting side to a big win.

Meanwhile, Avesh Khan also gave 15 runs in his first over but made a good comeback with just 20 runs in his next three and was the most economical Indian bowler in the contest. Notably, the 25-year-old pacer was picked up in the starting eleven ahead uncapped pacers like Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik. Arshadeep enjoyed a good Indian Premier League 2022 season with the Punjab Kings, taking ten wickets at an economy rate of 7.70. He is the only left-arm pacer in the Indian camp for the ongoing series.

Ashish Nehra wants an unchanged eleven for the first three matches

Meanwhile, former Indian pacer Nehra has shared his thoughts on the selection of a bowling unit from the first match. As per him, Arshadeep should have been selected ahead of Avesh but now he wants the team to stick with the same eleven for the next match.

“Arshdeep Singh would’ve been my first choice in place of Avesh Khan but not now. The next match is in Cuttack, you generally have high scores there too. Two batters, in the end, took the game away from you. Don’t think there is any need for a change. Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul are not there. India should play three matches with the same team unless there is a drastic change in conditions. India should learn from the defeat in the first game and move to the second one without panicking much,” Nehra told Cricbuzz.