‘Doesn't make sense at all’ – Aakash Chopra baffled with Venkatesh Iyer’s axing from 3rd ODI

Team India went with as many as four changes in their line-up for the third and final ODI against South Africa. Having lost the previous two clashes, a series win is out of India’s grasp and they opted to test their bench strength in the dead rubber. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Jayant Yadav and Prasidh Krishna came in place of Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Venkatesh Iyer and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

As South Africa walked away with convincing wins in the first two ODIs, changes in the playing XI were certainly on the cards. However, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra isn’t happy with the axing of Venkatesh Iyer. The southpaw, who made his debut in the first ODI, was selected for his three-dimensional abilities.

While he couldn’t do much in the opening clash, the dasher slammed 22 runs in the second game alongside bowling five handy overs. As skipper KL Rahul backed him as an all-round option ahead of the series, Chopra wasn’t happy with Venkatesh’s axing.

Venkatesh Iyer cannot be unfit: Aakash Chopra

“One thing that has really surprised me is that Venkatesh Iyer cannot be unfit. I really can’t digest this fact. Because that doesn’t make sense at all. You played him only twice, handed him the ball only once and then you drop him in the next match. You are once again going with only five bowlers. I’m not 100 per cent with the fact…Iyer has been dropped,” he said in a discussion with Star Sports.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been included at Iyer’s expense. This also means India don’t have any sixth-bowling option unlike the previous two clashes. Hence, off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who made his lone ODI appearance back in 2016, has to bowl his quota of overs alongside batting at number seven. Notably, the Men in Blue now have lost three successive ODI series overseas.

Hence, they would be keen to avoid a clean sweep against the Temba Bavuma-led team. Meanwhile, India won the toss in the dead rubber and opted to bowl first in Cape Town. Now, it would be interesting to see how KL Rahul manages his bowlers. On the other hand, the hosts won’t mind a 3-0 series win.