'The depth you are talking about may not be really there' - Aakash Chopra takes a dig on Jay Shah's 'bench strength' statement

Former India Test opener Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah for his confidence in the Indian team possibly fielding multiple teams in the future. Earlier, Shah had mentioned the special depth of Indian cricket.

At the same time, the national cricket board is also planning to prepare a roster of about 50 players ready to represent India at the highest level along with the much-needed help of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman. Over the last couple of years, some phenomenal talent on the bench has helped the BCCI have a backup plan during multiple tours at the same time or in case of injuries to players.

With such depth, you feel proud as an Indian: Aakash Chopra

“Our Honorable BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had said that with the help of VVS Laxman, who is the head at NCA, they are preparing a pool of 50 players. With such depth, you feel proud as an Indian. But you need to take this with a pinch of salt,” said Chopra while speaking on his YouTube channel.

“India had sent a second-string side to Sri Lanka where the likes of Chetan Sakariya, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad made their debuts. After whatever happened on that tour, we were very bullish that we would field two teams and win everywhere,” he added.

“But India couldn’t win a single game in South Africa in 2022. So suddenly you realized that the depth you are talking about may not be really there. That was like a reality check,” the cricketer-turned-cricket pundit further added.

India are currently playing with a second-string side in the ongoing limited-overs series against the West Indies as the key players including the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, etc. have been rested as a part of the workload management. The Men in Blue are being led by senior opener Shikhar Dhawan with regular skipper Rohit Sharma rested for the ODI series. He would be back for the five T20Is.

India had created history with a strong bench strength by registering a famous Test series win on Australian soil in the 2020/21 season despite suffering a humiliating defeat in the series opener at the Adelaide Oval where they registered their lowest-ever Test total of 36.