‘His name not being there is a little surprising’ – Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s exclusion from England Tour

‘His name not being there is a little surprising’ – Aakash Chopra on Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s exclusion from England Tour

Aakash Chopra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra was baffled with the omission of Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name from the World Test Championship final and the upcoming tour of England. 

The Meerut pacer last featured in a Test match during India’s tour of South Africa back in 2018. Since then, he has been suffering from multiple injuries which kept him sidelined from the national side.

Chopra acknowledged that Bhuvi might not be available for the WTC final as picked yet another niggle during the IPL 2021 while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, the 43-year old mentioned that he should have been a part of the 20 member squad flying to England.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s name not being there is a little surprising from my point of view. It is possible he might not have gotten fit till the WTC final or you may not have wanted to take a chance with him,” Aakash Chopra on his Youtube channel.

‘Bhuvi could surely play two or three matches: Chopra

Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The cricketer-turned-commentator said that Kumar would have been an asset for India in the English conditions. He added that the team management could pick a swing bowler like Bhuvneshwar for at least two or three matches out of the five clashes scheduled against Joe Root’s men. 

He further opined: “But if there are five Test matches in England and you have a bowler like Bhuvi bowling at his peak, you can surely play him in two or three of the five Test matches. That’s what I would be thinking if I get a bowler like Bhuvi in those conditions, he is an asset.

“But his name is not there for a series that starts in August and ends in September, there are five Test matches. When we talk about the huge squads, if he is fit, then why not Bhuvneshwar Kumar. You might also be thinking the same,” he added.

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