Asia Cup 2022: “Selectors made a big mistake by going with only 3 fast bowlers” - Aakash Chopra admits Team India missed Mohammed Shami

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has termed the selectors’ decision to not pick Mohammed Shami in Team India's Asia Cup 2022 squad as a “big mistake”.

Indian selectors and team management have come under fire following Team India’s exit from the Asia Cup in the Super 4 stage. Many have questioned the decision to leave out experienced pacer Shami despite Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel being unavailable due to injury.

The Indian squad for the Asia Cup included only three fast bowlers in Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan, with Hardik Pandya being picked as the pace-bowling all-rounder.

In a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked if the Indian selectors erred by leaving out Shami. The former opener agreed:

“I am not talking in hindsight. The day the (Asia Cup 2022) squad was announced, my biggest takeaway was that the selectors have made a big mistake by going with only three fast bowlers. Mohammed Shami was sitting at home. What was the whole point of that?”

Shami has not played a T20I for India since the World Cup in the UAE last year. The 32-year-old pacer has only featured in 17 T20 games for the Men in Blue so far, claiming 18 wickets at an average of 31.55 and an economy rate of 9.54.

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“There are many reasons why he should have been picked” - Chopra on Shami being snubbed for Asia Cup

Elaborating on Shami’s absence from the Asia Cup squad, Chopra stated that there were multiple reasons why the right-handed pacer should have been chosen. He opined:

“There are many reasons why he should have been picked. He had a very good IPL (for the Gujarat Titans). Second, fast bowling works on pitches in the UAE. And third, when you pick only three pacers, what if one of them gets ill or unfit? It did happen (with Avesh Khan) and, after that, India fell short.”

Concluding his thoughts on the debate, the 44-year-old commented:

“If they don’t pick Shami even for the home series against Australia, it will prove that the selectors are rigid. Just because they didn’t pick him earlier, do they want to stick with the same philosophy?”

Shami had an excellent IPL 2022 campaign for the Gujarat Titans, claiming 20 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 24.40 and an economy rate of 8.00.