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As India gears up to take on England in the third Test in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15, 2024, Aakash Chopra felt Kuldeep Yadav should be the easy choice for the game, but leaving Axar Patel out of the line-up may not be a fair decision.
In all likelihood, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be available for selection for the third Test, which means if India opts to play three spinners, either Kuldeep or Axar could give up their spot in the line-up.
Kuldeep replaced the injured Jadeja in the second Test.
'I would say don't touch Kuldeep because he is a wrist-spinner,' Chopra said on his YouTibe channel. 'A wrist-spinner traps the batters and we also saw him bowler well in Vizag.'
'He got to bowl before Axar, bowled more, and was more successful as well. So I feel Kuldeep Yadav is your automatic choice. But it seems like you are doing an injustice if you leave Axar out.
'He has been very consistent, so why should we suddenly say that you can drop Axar?' Chopra asked.
'Another option could be to play four spinners because we played (Mohammed) Siraj in the first match and Mukesh (Kumar) in the second match, and both had a very limited contribution. They had limited opportunities because they got few overs.'
'However, let's be fair, the performance was not that good as well. While Bumrah was taking nine wickets in a match, both of them together picked up one wicket in two Tests.' Chopra said.
'So is it necessary to play another fast bowler? You can play with just one fast bowler.'