'Prithvi Shaw will have to wait' - Aakash Chopra explains India's team combination ahead of final T20I in Ahmedabad

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has given a strong opinion about India cricketer Prithvi Shaw ahead of the 3rd T20I of the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand. The series is at the moment poised at 1-1 with the final T20I in Ahmedabad to act as a decider.

The continuous exclusion of young cricketer Prithvi Shaw had intrigued and dissapointed the fans a lot, with fans taking to social media to vent out their anger and displeasure on the Indian think-tank's tactics in aiming of utilising its players.

Will have to wait: Aakash Chopra opines on Prithvi Shaw

"I feel Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will stay together, and Prithvi Shaw will still have to wait. There are two reasons for that. If you play Prithvi Shaw, he would either score runs or not. If he scores runs, it's fine; but if he doesn't, then what?" the 45-year-old said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

The former right-handed batter believes that team India should continue with their exisiting playing XI that they had used during the second T20I, as that will help in maintaining the winning momentum India gained after the first T20I loss to New Zealand. Also, the opening pair of Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan is also quite young and dynamic, so, they should also be given some more game time to express themselves.

"If you split this pairing (Gill-Kishan) now, it will become a broken partnership for the future. You are not giving them a last opportunity to do whatever they can and that we will consider them for the future if they do well, and if not, we shall think about it."

Further, Chopra avoided judging the youngster on the basis of just one game. The 23-year-old is a fine batter, and should be used in accordance with team India's requirements in every series. It seems only a matter of time before the 23-year-old actually gets a game for India.

"Are you going to judge that you played Prithvi Shaw and that he didn't score runs, so let us leave him out? How do you actually judge a player if you have given him just one match, that too the last game of the series? That's not right." Chopra signed off.

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