“Difficult to understand that actually”: Saba Karim expresses shock over the snub of Deepak Chahar in the 2nd ODI against Zimbabwe

Saba Karim has expressed shock over the exclusion of Deepak Chahar in India’s playing against Zimbabwe in the 2nd ODI.

Zimbabwe and India are up against each other in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match ODI series at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. Team India won the first ODI, and they would want to seal the series in this game.

KL Rahul surprised everyone at the toss when he announced that Deepak Chahar has been replaced by Shardul Thakur. Chahar made his comeback to International cricket after 6 months in the last match, and he was awarded the Man of the Match award as well. This news was a surprise to everyone as Rahul did not mention the reason for leaving Deepak on the bench.

Saba Karim expresses shock on Deepak Chahar snub

Former Indian wicket-keeper Saba Karim has expressed his shock over the snub of Deepak Chahar from the 2nd ODI playing eleven. Karim said that unless there was an advice from the support staff, he should not have been removed from the team after playing just one ODI game.

“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,” Karim said on the Sony Sports network.

KL Rahul has won the toss and #TeamIndia will be bowling first.

☝🏻 change in the playing XI as Shardul Thakur comes in place of Deepak Chahar. #PlayBold #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/OzkTr8Zi4n

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 20, 2022

Karim added that he was expecting Avesh Khan to replace Deepak Chahar instead of Shardul Thakur. He said that Avesh is a part of the Asia Cup squad, and he should have given some match time ahead of the important Asia Cup.

“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,” Karim added.

Team India will start their Asia Cup 2022 against their arch-rivals Pakistan on 28 August 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.