Aakash Chopra has raised questions regarding Umran Malik‘s absence from recent Indian squads, including the India A teams. Umran is notably absent from the 16-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan.
Umran Malik’s non-selection extends to the recent multi-format tour of South Africa, where he wasn’t included in the India A side or chosen for the intra-squad practice games. The exclusion of the promising young fast bowler has sparked curiosity and discussions about the selection decisions within Indian cricket circles.
Umran Malik doesn’t even get selected for India A- Aakash Chopra.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chopra discussed some of the perplexing recent selections in Indian cricket. Regarding Umran Malik, he commented:
“Till some time back, Umran Malik was everywhere. We took him to the West Indies as well and it seemed like he could be in the World Cup team too but now he is not there in any of the teams. He doesn’t even get selected for India A,” said Aakash Chopra.
The former India opener raised questions about why the Jammu and Kashmir speedster has seemingly vanished from the scene. He further elaborated,
“What happened within three months that a guy first gets selected for the Indian team, gets very minimum chances there, and then goes totally missing? We don’t even know where Umran Malik is. Why isn’t he there? We should know why this is happening,” he added.
Umran Malik finished with a notable figures of 2/9 in 2.1 overs in his last T20I against New Zealand in February 2023. However, he faced an inconsistent run in the IPL 2023 and proved to be expensive in the two ODIs during the West Indies tour. Following these performances, he has not been selected in any squad thereafter.
Why is he not there?– Aakash Chopra on exclusion of Shreyas Iyer from the T20I series against Afghanistan
Aakash Chopra expressed bewilderment at Shreyas Iyer’s omission from the T20I series against Afghanistan, especially considering his match-winning contribution in the final T20I he participated in. Aakash Chopra explained,
When I look at the recent selection, I see Shreyas Iyer. There was a five-match series immediately after the World Cup, so he was rested for the first two or three matches but then he joined the team as a vice-captain. He scored a fifty in the last match against Australia as well. It was a match-winning knock,” said Aakash Chopra.
The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned how the selectors would justify the exclusion of the middle-order batter, expressing his skepticism. He stated:
“Then he went to South Africa as well but now he is not in the team. Why is he not there? If he was a part of your team, what happened to him now, suddenly? What will you tell Shreyas Iyer, that why hasn’t he been picked?”, he stated.
Chopra also observed that the Indian team is still in the process of determining their frontline spinners. He noted that the selectors seem to be oscillating between Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, and there is still uncertainty regarding their first-choice wrist-spinner between Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi.