IND vs ZIM: Ex-players question Team India's 'difficult to understand' decision in 2nd ODI

Former India cricketers Saba Karim and Maninder Singh were baffled not to see returning fast bowler Deepak Chahar in the XI for the second ODI against Zimbabwe on Saturday. Chahar bowled a brilliant spell on his comeback after sixth and a half months as he produced a player of the match performance by ending with outstanding figures of 3-27. But surprisingly, Chahar was excluded from the team for the 2nd ODI and was replaced by Shardul Thakur, who picked up three wickets in the match.

IND vs ZIM: Ex-players reveal shock at Team India's decision

While speaking on Sony Sports, Saba Karim said, "Difficult to understand that actually. Unless it is on the advice of the support staff to manage the workload and keep him fresh, to make sure there's not much pressure on his body. It is difficult for a fast bowler to come back from an injury and play regular matches."

While Karim admitted that leaving Chahar out could be a decision that was made to manage his workload, he was not unhappy with the choice of Shardul Thakur replacing Deepak Chahar. "But more importantly, I was expecting Avesh Khan to replace Deepak Chahar and not Shardul Thakur. Avesh Khan is in your Asia Cup squad so it would have been ideal for him to get more game time. More so if you are looking to draft him in the ODI setup. The selectors have so far been looking at him more as a T20I option," added Karim.

Maninder Singh echoed a similar view as he added, "Shardul tries really hard to go for wickets all the time and that is the reason why his economy rate is high. He hasn't been able to replicate his domestic performances consistently at the international level. But the selectors have faith in him. I agree with Saba, I think Avesh Khan would have been a better choice."

India vs Zimbabwe 2nd ODI playing 11

Team India: Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

Zimbabwe: Innocent Kaia, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (c & wk), Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Victor Nyauchi, Tanaka Chivanga