The player didn’t feature in the XI during the first T20I against Bangladesh.
The depth of Indian cricket is insane, for too many quality players compete for one spot in every format. That can lead to the team management making some harsh decisions and dropping a few players, even if their performances were good enough.
One such decision was taken during the first T20I between India and Bangladesh when the team dropped Ravi Bishnoi, one of the best performers in the shortest format. India preferred Washington Sundar and Varun Chakravarthy as their spinners for the game, leaving no place for Bishnoi.
Former Indian player Aakash Chopra was disappointed with the move and feels Bishnoi is unfairly treated. He stated the team has never been fair with the leg spinners, citing the example of Yuzvendra Chahal’s exclusion from the setup.
“I feel he (Bishnoi) is not being treated fairly because if you see the list of players who have done well for India since he started playing, you will find that Ravi Bishnoi’s performances have been very good. Arshdeep (Singh) is at No. 1 but Ravi Bishnoi is not too far behind. Then as soon as someone needs to be dropped, you drop him. To be fair, we are not fair on any leg-spinner. We haven’t played Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal in any World Cup to date. You don’t play him even if he is in the team. Similarly, we are not playing Ravi Bishnoi although he has been consistently doing well.”
Understanding the thought process behind Ravi Bishnoi’s axing
There can be many reasons behind dropping Ravi Bishnoi from the XI in the first game, but the biggest one was the inclusion of Varun Chakravarthy. Varun is a mystery spinner who is equally terrific against RHBs and LHBs and can snare wickets consistently.
As he proved in the game, his skillsets are too good to ignore, especially after his recent improvements. Further, India selected Washington Sundar as their second spinner because he is also more capable than Bishnoi with the bat.
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While Sundar is a matchup vs LHBs, Bishnoi also does well against the southpaws, so this might not be the reason behind dropping the leg spinner. It’s just that Sundar provides batting depth, something Gautam Gambhir likes to have in the shortest format.
That said Bishnoi is a better bowler than Sundar and should start ahead of him. India already have ample depth in their batting unit, with Rinku Singh at No.7, and should play specialists in the bowling department rather than searching for more batting options in the lower order.
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