The former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen applauded the selection of Varun Chakravarthy in the Indian ODI team against England as a ‘great move’, although he felt England players would face him better in the longer format. Chakravarthy was a thorn in England’s flesh in T20Is, taking 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 series win and subsequently being drafted into the ODI side beginning from Thursday in Nagpur.
“The English batters would be better against him in the one-dayers because they can spend more time. It’s a longer format, not every ball would be an event. But I think it is a great decision”(to add Chakravarthy), Pietersen told the media during the launch of Dram Bell Scotch Whisky.
Pietersen called England’s defeat a “disaster” while stating that had a like-for-like concussion substitution for Shivam Dube been made instead of tearaway quick Harshit Rana, the series would have been tied at Pune.
“It was a disappointing series from England’s perspective, I think that if it was done right in the fourth T20I with the concussion substitution, maybe England could get up there,” he said.
“It would’ve been tied at 2-2 going into Wankhede for the final T20I. That would’ve been very competitive indeed.” Pietersen said, “There are shades of Yuvraj Singh rubbing off on Abhishek Sharma, who played the greatest T20I innings I have ever seen.”
“Abhishek is phenomenal. There were Yuvraj shades….Obviously, Yuvraj is rubbing off now on Abishek. His batting was phenomenal, it was the greatest T20 international innings I have ever seen, and I told him that afterward,” Pietersen said.
The former England captain would not stop gushing about the ability with which this guy played the Punjab southpaw. “It was truly so easy. Stroke playing was good, nothing funny-the ramping, the sweeping, the reverse sweeping. Just pure perfection.”
