Aakash Chopra questions exclusion of Rahul Tripathi from playing XI throughout ODI series against Zimbabwe

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Indian team management’s decision not to play Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the inconsequential third ODI against Zimbabwe.

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The Men in Blue went into the final ODI in Harare on Monday, August 22, with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. While it was an opportunity to give some of the players waiting in the wings a chance, the Indian think tank opted to go with the same batting lineup as the first two games.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned why Tripathi was selected in the squad if he was not going to be given a chance, elaborating:

“The people who were interested in this game said that you should play Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi, give chances to everyone, but nothing like that happened. The question comes that you selected Rahul Tripathi but you are not giving him opportunities. Then why did you select him at all?”

Chopra added that the same is true for Gaikwad as well. The former Indian batter said:

“You are not even able to play him in a dead rubber. The same is the story of Ruturaj Gaikwad. You kept the batting order as it is – Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were only opening, [Shubman] Gill and Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda.

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Chopra was, however, happy with India’s decision to finally bat first, observing:

“You decided to bat first after winning the toss, which doesn’t mean you will lose the match. The match went close for sure but you still won. You would have won more easily if you had batted slightly better. But you were not doing that till now, while we could understand why at least you challenged yourself.”