'The big question is whether Mavi should be...' - Aakash Chopra makes big statement about possible changes in squad for 2nd T20I against SL

The young Uttar Pradesh pacer Shivam Mavi marked his arrival in T20I cricket with a sensational performance in his debut match in the first T20I of the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Mavi scalped a total of four wickets by conceding only 22 runs with a commendable economy rate of 5.50.

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Notably, the 24-year-old young pacer was named as a replacement for the star Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh who had a good run of form with the ball in the 20-20 World Cup 2022. So considering that, the Indian management might go through a conundrum while picking the best playing XI for the second T20I against Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has come up with a bit of hard- and fast-line analysis on the place of Shivam Mavi if Arshdeep Singh gets fit and comes available for the second of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Kuldeep did not play there, will Shivam Mavi not play here? - Aakash Chopra

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"Who will go out if Arshdeep is fit? Will the Player of the Match of the first game be dropped, as it happened in the second Test against Bangladesh? Kuldeep did not play there, will Shivam Mavi not play here? The big question is whether Mavi should be kept or left out. Mavi will have to go if Arshdeep is available,” said Aakash Chopra in a video on his YouTube Channel.

"You will say why - because what is the long-term vision, there is a process. The process is that Arshdeep is the first guy. Harshal and Umran Malik are in this pecking order. If Mavi had come, Mavi only will have to go out, however unfortunate it might be. I feel Arshdeep will not be available, Mavi will play and do well also on this pitch,” the former Indian opener added later.

Interestingly, a similar sort of omission happened during the second of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in December 2020. The fans fumed at the Indian Team Management for excluding Kuldeep Yadav even after being the player of the match in the first Test match of the series.