India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is going through a rough patch at the moment. In the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa, he failed to pick up a wicket in the first two matches, and was taken to the cleaners by the Protean batters. Bhuvneshar was eventually dropped from the playing XI for the third and final ODI. Deepak Chahar, who replaced him in the playing XI for the last match, put on an impressive performance, taking two wickets with the new ball. He also scored a fighting half-century and nearly took India over the line.
Former India batter Aakash Chopra said that regardless of how Deepak performed in the final ODI, Bhuvneshar Kumar should be given a break from India's white-ball teams, considering his poor form in the last 18 months or so.
"Well, not because Deepak Chahar has bowled or batted the way he has. It looks like there has to be a break. Bhuvneshwar Kumar cannot walk into the team the next time India will play white-ball cricket, as simple as that. It's about how Bhuvneshwar Kumar hasn't been looking sharp or incisive in the last 16-18 months," Chopra said on Star Sports.
While the first two ODIs were played at the Boland Park in Paarl, the third and final ODI was played at the Newlands in Cape Town.
Despite agreeing that there wasn't much help for the bowlers in Paarl, Chopra added that he doesn't see Bhuvneshar getting selected in the ODIs and T20Is for the near future, considering that he has been out of sorts for a while.
"The pitch at Paarl and pitch at Cape Town were very different from each other. There was nothing in Paarl, there was something in it for the faster bowlers today. So that's not a fair comparison but to answer your question, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, I don't see him getting picked in the near future in white-ball cricket, 50 overs or 20 overs," he added.
Despite Deepak's heroics, India narrowly lost the third ODI by 4 runs, and South Africa pulled off a clean sweep in the three-match series.