“He has got better numbers than Jasprit Bumrah” - Ex-Indian cricketer slams Indian team management for excluding star player vs UAE

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has slammed the Indian team management for excluding Arshdeep Singh from the playing XI for the game against the UAE on Wednesday, September 10, in Dubai.

Interestingly, Team India opted for three spinners in Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, and Kuldeep Yadav, while Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya were the two pace options, alongside Shivam Dube as the third pace choice.

While Chopra felt that Arshdeep Singh is the leading wicket-taker for India in the shortest format of the game, he should’ve got the chance ahead of Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI. However, he also felt that the Indian team is still in the Champions Trophy hangover.

"Arshdeep Singh. 99 wickets, Arshdeep Singh has got more wickets and better numbers than Jasprit Bumrah in T20s for India," Chopra told ESPNCricinfo.

"I think it has a Champions Trophy hangover in this playing XI. That was in March. That was dusty. I have never seen that square as dry as I saw in March in Dubai. But this is September, and they have gone with the same tactic, albeit in a different format. Is that actually the way India is going to plan? You have to pick your best team," he added.

Moving into the details of the game against the UAE, Kuldeep Yadav was awarded the player of the match for his figures of 4/7 in 3.1 overs as India went on to clinch a nine-wicket win to start off the Asia Cup 2025 campaign on a winning note.

In the chase, India took 4.3 overs to chase down the 58-run target. While Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls) was amazing with his exceptional gameplay, Shubman Gill (20* off nine) also looked good enough in the powerplay.

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