India's World Cup Squad Announced: Aakash Chopra hopes lack of off-spinner 'doesn't haunt India'

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra is disappointed that Team India didn’t pick leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal or an off-spinner in its 15-member squad for the Cricket World Cup 2023 which was announced on Tuesday. Kuldeep Yadav is the only wrist-spinner in the side while left-arm tweakers Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have also been included. An off-spinner like Ravichandran Ashwin instead of Axar could have been picked. “I’m not surprised by the team selection, but I am a bit disappointed that they haven’t considered the need for Yuzvendra Chahal. We can’t play Jadeja and Axar together. There will be situations where you face teams like Australia with many left-handed batsmen, and having an off-spinner option becomes crucial. Unfortunately, the team doesn’t have that now, and it seems like they haven’t thought about it thoroughly. I hope this decision doesn’t come back to haunt them in the future,” Chopra said in a conversation on JioCinema’s Cricket World Cup squad announcement show ‘Home of the Blues’. India squad: Fans unhappy with lack of off-spinner Aakash however agreed with India’s decision to include Shardul Thakur in the squad instead of a pure pacer like Prasidh Krishna as it would help India bloster their batting depth. “In an ideal scenario, you want your No. 9 player to bat a little bit. This is a strength that teams like Pakistan or England possess. Our problem is that our No. 9, 10, and 11 can’t bat to the level where you can have confidence in their abilities. Hypothetically, it’ll be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav in those positions. Additionally, we need a strong No. 8, for which we have Shardul Thakur. Why do you need a batter at No. 8? This is when you have a player or two in your top six whose form can’t be trusted. That’s when you want a little depth. There’s merit in having four proper bowlers and playing Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya as two all-rounders. It should work with two all-rounders and a third all-rounder is a luxury,” he said. Aakash also spoke about the Indian team not looking at Dhawan. “You can think about Shikhar Dhawan. He was our ODI giant. He has been a significant figure in the format for India, earning the nickname “Mr. ICC” for his consistent performances in ICC tournaments. Even though he’s not occupying our mind space right now, Shikhar Dhawan has done everything to find a place in an ODI setup.” India’s ODI World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav