With two months to go for the 2023 ODI World Cup, things look far from settled for the Indian cricket team. Question marks remain on the availability of some injured top stars. The team management has also indulged in experimentation in the recently-concluded ODI series, especially in the middle order. Former India opener Aakash Chopra said that the team management should not be blamed for the experimentations because some of them are forced.
"The hands are tied. Because I was critical of the team when they experimented too much in the ODI series, when they had three different batters at no. 3 and 4 in three different games. And you start asking questions, what is the team going to do. Then the thought popped, are these guys not going to be available. Just a thought. That's what we discussed in Match-centre as well," Aakash Chopra told NDTV during an interaction organised by JioCinema.
"Will Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul be available? Or is there an insight that these might not be available and these guys are scrambling for options. The latter seems to be the case if we are to believe the latest reports. In this case you don't blame. I don't think it is by design. I think they are clutching the straws, that whatever we have, make the most of it, with the hope that all out main guys will be fit. I don't blame the team management at all. India are in a tight spot."
Senior batter KL Rahul in all likelihood will miss the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka as he will take more time to recover from his hamstring injury while it could be a touch and go for another star Shreyas Iyer as far as his participation in the World Cup is concerned, according to a PTI report. Rahul had undergone a thigh surgery while Iyer had a surgery on his lower back to cure stress fracture. The last BCCI update didn't specify their date of return of the duo as they were seen slowly building on their workload as far as 'Return to Play' is concerned.