“It's our bowling bank of eight overs” - Aakash Chopra picks two Indian players to watch out for in INDvSA clash

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has stated that Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah will play a key role among the Indian bowlers in the Super 8 clash between India and South Africa.

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Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that with the Indian batters feeling slight pressure, he went ahead with two bowlers as the players to watch out for in this much-awaited encounter.

"I am going to go with two bowlers. It's our bowling bank of eight overs. I am not going towards the batters now. It's true that the batters are feeling slight pressure. They are not playing in a fearless and carefree manner. The dot-ball percentage has gone up slightly. So I am thinking about two bowlers, because when the conditions are generally flat, they change the complexion of the game," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Chopra strolled down memory lane when India met South Africa last time around in December 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. While India posted 231/5 in 20 overs, South Africa could score 201/8, losing the game by 30 runs. Varun Chakravarthy scalped four wickets while Bumrah picked up two important scalps.

"They are Varun Chakaravarthy's four overs and four overs of Jasprit Bumrah. These eight overs can actually turn the game in our favor. The last time they played against South Africa here, Varun conceded 53 runs in four overs, but picked up four wickets. Bumrah was economical and picked up two wickets as well," he added.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs.

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