'Whatever We have, Make Most of It': Ex-Opener Feels Team India 'Clutching the Straws' Before World Cup 2023

Is Team India ready for the ICC World Cup 2023? The question is looming large as there are multiple factors that raise concerns. A number of star performers are yet to prove their fitness while the available ones have limited opportunities to show their worth. Meanwhile, the management experimented with team combinations in the recently-concluded West Indies ODIs to find a few answers only to get average results.

India have Asia Cup 2023 and a bilateral ODI series lined up before heading into the World Cup. The management will hope to have their stars, who are missing due to injuries, back in the mix. The absence of Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, and Shreyas Iyer back has already forced the team to experiment with the combination in the past and with the World Cup approaching, the hosts would like to have a clear picture in their mind.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes that the team management should not be blamed for the experimentation 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 was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Meanwhile, several media reports have also suggested that Shreyas Iyer’s return may take time as the batter has started facing back issues even after undergoing surgery. Chopra feels if that’s the case, then India will find themselves in a tight spot.

“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 our main guys will be fit. I don’t blame the team management at all. India is in a tight spot,” he concluded.