World Cup 2023: If R Ashwin plays, Bumrah, Shami would be my pacers, says Aakash Chopra

India will target a sixth win in six matches when they take on England in the World Cup fixture at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday. Men in Blue once again come into the fixture with selection dilemma to solve after Hardik Pandya’s injury. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table All-rounder Hardik Pandya injured himself against Bangladesh as he tried to stop a ball during the follow-through. A ligament tear has kept Pandya out of the game against New Zealand already and he is due to miss the clash against England as well. This has opened the door for India to try and find a solution. Versus New Zealand, Mohammad Shami came in as the seam-bowling option with Shardul Thakur sitting out and Suryakumar Yadav slotted in as the batting fix.

The opportunity to rest and move things about in the playing XI also comes with the knowledge that India have one foot in the semi-finals. India have won all five of their World Cup matches - vs Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and New Zealand - to occupy second spot in the points table. They’re behind South Africa, who have played one game more, on net run rate. As India and England head to the World Cup contest in Lucknow, question marks persist over India’s playing XI. JioCinema expert and former India cricketer Aakash Chopra suggested bringing in R Ashwin and leaving space for two seam bowlers, which he picked as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami. “There has been talk that R Ashwin may feature in the game against England because the ground is huge and the pitch was also receptive to turn during the last IPL. During the IPL, there were two types of pitches in Lucknow. One made of black soil and the other from red soil. And, whenever there were games on the black soil pitch, one saw massive turn for spinners. But, on the pitch that had red soil, batting was relatively easy. Even during the month of April and May dew was a factor. As of now they have a surface consisting of red soil and the pitch is largely true with average turn." “So, if India play Ashwin, they will increase their batting depth but will be left with spots for only two pace bowlers. So that’s the big question. Will India want to play with only two pacers? In case they want to play Ashwin, then Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami would be my choice of pacers,” he added. Shami had missed the four opening matches in the World Cup. Against New Zealand, on the first opportunity, he took five wickets.