India vs South Africa, 2nd ODI: Should Suryakumar Yadav Replace Venkatesh Iyer? Aakash Chopra Gives His Verdict | Cricket News

Venkatesh Iyer made his ODI debut on Wednesday for India but had a disappointing outing as the visitors crashed to a 31-run defeat against South Africa in the first ODI in Paarl. Despite KL Rahul stating that Venkatesh would be used as his sixth bowling option, the KKR all-rounder didn’t get to bowl a single over. He also failed to impress with the bat, registering only two runs off seven balls before losing his wicket to Lungi Ngidi. Due to his poor performance, many fans have been calling for the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav in the playing XI but former cricketer Aakash Chopra feels the team management should stick with the 27-year-old for “sometime”.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the commentator was asked if Suryakumar should replace Venkatesh in the second ODI vs South Africa. Chopra answered in the negative and gave his backing to Venkatesh.

He also gave his support to Shreyas Iyer, who has also come under criticism for his showing in the first ODI.

“Play Venkatesh Iyer. If your question is should Shreyas Iyer be replaced by Suryakumar Yadav, my answer for that is also no. When you play your first match for any team, its important to be there for sometime at least. If you make 2-3 wholesale changes in every match like dropping Shreyas Iyer for failing to impress or Suryakumar Yadav, it should not be done like that. You should get chance to play”, he said.

Chopra also shared his analysis that both Shreyas and Venkatesh showcased their weakness against bouncers during the first ODI, which could come back to haunt them soon.

“One thing is true that they are going to use the bouncer trap against Shreyas Iyer more and more”, he said.

“Everyone knows, send a bouncer to Shreyas Iyer and he will get stuck. Even the other Iyer got stuck against bouncers. So, we are going to see both Iyers receive bouncers.”

Giving his final verdict, Chopra stated, “According to me, SKY didn’t play in the previous game. So, he should not replace them for the 2nd ODI also.”

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Chasing a target of 297 runs in Paarl, India could only reach 265 for eight in 50 overs, losing the match by 31 runs.

The second ODI is scheduled for Friday and will be held at the same venue.