IND v AUS 2020: 'India will be loosening the grip whichever third pacer they play' - Aakash Chopra

Former opener Aakash Chopra has opined that the Indian cricket team will miss the services of Ishant Sharma in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He believes that the three available third seamer options will not be able to put the Australian batsmen under constant pressure.

Chopra made this observation while talking about the third fast bowler India is likely to field in the first Test in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

Aakash Chopra started by stating that India will have to choose between Umesh Yadav and the inexperienced duo of Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini for the third seamer's spot for the first Test against Australia.

"The question is which third pacer should be played. The options are Umesh Yadav, this is the third trip to Australia for him, apart from Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini, both of them having not made their debuts."

The renowned commentator observed Ishant Sharma's absence will be a big blow to India as he has proved to be an able ally for Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

"This fight would not have been there at all if Ishant Sharma was there. Everything would have been fine and he would have done well also. The three-pronged pace attack of Shami, Bumrah and Ishant would have put the constant pressure and the opposition team would have floundered."

Aakash Chopra reckons the third seamer will prove to be the Achilles heel for India in the Test series.

"Now this one thing is going against India, they have two quality pacers but the third pacer will be the weak link. India will not be able to maintain consistent pressure."

Aakash Chopra reasoned the third pacer is likely to relieve the pressure on the opposition batsmen irrespective of which seamer India chooses out of the trio.

"India will be loosening the grip whichever third pacer they play out of these three. There will be a time when India will say that they are missing Ishant Sharma."

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Aakash Chopra's views on the third seamer options available to India

Aakash Chopra feels Umesh Yadav will be India's third pacer for the Adelaide Test

Talking about the three available third seamer options, Aakash Chopra believes Navdeep Saini has all the ingredients to be successful in Aussie conditions.

"I have great belief in Navdeep Saini. He has a high arm action, has the pace and gets the movement after the ball pitches which is what is required in Test cricket on Australian pitches. Navdeep Saini ticks all the boxes for the third seamer."

However, Aakash Chopra pointed out the lanky pacer's indifferent performance in the second innings of the final warm-up encounter might have ruled him out of contention.

"He had a good first innings of the warm-up encounter but the second innings was not good. He was leaking runs as well and was not that effective also. So, that will go against him."

Aakash Chopra reckons Mohammed Siraj can be a useful asset in the pink-ball Test because of his ability to swing the ball.

"Mohammed Siraj's ability to swing the ball goes in his favour. You would need a bowler who can swing the ball in a pink-ball Test match and he has decent pace as well."

On the flip side, Aakash Chopra highlighted the Hyderabad-born pacer tends to spray the ball around and can prove to be extremely expensive.

"But the thing that goes against him is that he bowls too many loose balls, which is an issue. Bowling continuously in the channel is not Mohammed Siraj's strength. He is not the restrictive bowler India wants as the 3rd pacer. Mohammed Siraj can take five wickets but can also go for six runs an over."

Aakash Chopra believes Umesh Yadav is likely to edge out the other two bowlers and could be a new-ball option for the Indian team.

"I feel Umesh Yadav will play. His last two tours were not that good but Australia can be hard at times even for fast bowlers. He has done a good job with the new ball when he has played at home. So India can consider giving him the new ball."

While expressing doubts about Yadav's consistency, Aakash Chopra signed off by iterating the Vidarbha pacer is likely to be India's third pacer for the pink-ball Test.

"I am not a 100% that he can bowl with consistency because he does not have a great track record. But I feel he will win this race."

Ishant Sharma's absence has certainly left a huge void in the Indian bowling attack. The Indian fans will be hoping that Umesh Yadav, who is expected to play the third seamer's role, rises to the occasion and delivers to his potential.

Australian all-rounder Cameron Green on Umesh Yadav:-"You could obviously tell the world class skill of Umesh Yadav. He was bowling down the breeze on a wicket that did not have enough for them. Yeah, that was incredibly tough," he said."

— ComeOn Sports 🇮🇳 (@ComeOn_Sports) December 9, 2020