Saba Karim, a former selector for Team India, believes that despite Deepak Chahar‘s outstanding performance in the first One-Day International (ODI) against Zimbabwe, the all-rounder could not be among the first names included on Team India’s sheet for the shortest format.
Chahar was outstanding against Zimbabwe with the new ball, but Karim is concerned about his ability to bowl effectively in other aspects of the game, even though he was outstanding with the new ball. The 54-year-old feels that the Indian pace attack should have a lot of diversity, and because Bhuvneshwar Kumar is already in the mix, he does not like Chahar.
Deepak Chahar misses out today, reason not told. Maybe he did extremely well in the last game and ……
— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) August 20, 2022
What did Saba Karim say?
In an interview with India News Sports on Friday, Saba Karim discussed Deepak Chahar’s return to international cricket. Here is what he had to say about it:
“Even when he is in his peak physical condition, I see him as being a little farther down the T20I pecking order. You have younger bowlers like Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh, in addition to more experienced ones like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Chahar has shown remarkable improvement as a bowler, but because of his high economy rate towards the end of the game, Bhuvneshwar has the edge over him in this category.”
Deepak Chahar's excellent comeback. 3 wickets for him. pic.twitter.com/o5e1RZeNdW
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 18, 2022
Reetinder Sodhi, a former Indian cricketer who was also a member of the panel, does not subscribe to such a view about the need to have variation in the bowling attack. According to the 41-year-old, the fact that Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are both fully capable of bowling with the new ball means that they have the potential to create havoc on the powerplay.
In response to this, Sodhi said: “If the circumstances are right, I would love nothing more than to see Chahar and Bhuvneshwar play together in Twenty20 Internationals. It is possible to be a true wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals if you can move the ball in both directions, and these two can make the new ball speak to create early inroads in the batting order of the opposition.”
