"Don't judge a fish on his ability to climb a tree" - Aakash Chopra questions Hardik Pandya's handling of Yuzvendra Chahal in IND-WI T20I series

Aakash Chopra has questioned Hardik Pandya for using Yuzvendra Chahal outside his comfort zone in the T20I series between India and the West Indies.

The Men in Blue set the Windies a 166-run target in the series-deciding fifth T20I in Lauderhill, Florida, on Sunday, August 13. Chahal then went wicketless and conceded 51 runs in his four overs as Rovman Powell's side registered an eight-wicket win with two overs to spare.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra criticized Hardik Pandya for once again bowling Yuzvendra Chahal in the powerplay. He stated:

"Yuzi Chahal once again bowled an over in the powerplay. You can say that Yuzi Chahal is senior and should bowl in the powerplay but he can't do that. Don't judge a fish on his ability to climb a tree. A fish's job is to swim, someone else has the job to climb a tree."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the potent leg-spinner becomes a defensive bowler once he proves expensive in the powerplay overs. He explained:

"So if the fish is unable to climb the tree, why are you judging him? That's what is happening. You get Yuzi Chahal to bowl his first over in the powerplay which goes for 12-15 runs. Then the bowler ends up looking to improve his analysis. Then he doesn't flight the ball."

Chopra added that a leg-spinner's effectiveness is solely dependent on how the captain uses him. He observed:

"He used to come and pick up wickets in the 17th or 18th over but you are not giving him those overs. Leg-spinners are captain's bowlers. So if the captain gets them to bowl at the right stage, their stature grows, and if not, their stature falls drastically."

Chahal picked up five wickets in as many T20Is against the Windies. He proved quite expensive, conceding an average of 9.05 runs per over.

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"If you don't use Kul-Cha properly, Kul will remain but Cha will go" - Aakash Chopra on Yuzvendra Chahal not being used properly

Yuzvendra Chahal is India's highest wicket-taker in T20I cricket.

Aakash Chopra concluded by observing that India won't be able to play Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in tandem if the latter is not utilized properly. He elaborated:

"It's a catch-22 situation. You want Kulcha to play together, but if you don't use Kul-Cha properly, Kul will remain but Cha will go. Kul is bowling very well. Kul will play both ODIs and T20Is but it will become difficult for Cha and it is only because he is not being used properly."

Kuldeep seems to have stolen a march over Chahal as India's preferred wrist-spinner in both white-ball formats. The left-arm wrist-spinner picked up six wickets at an exceptional economy rate of 5.75 in the four T20Is he played against the Windies.