Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has expressed doubts about the Men in Blue’s readiness for the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and United States (USA). Aakash Chopra said that the Indian team management has not provided clarity on the batting line-up for the ICC tournament.
The Indian team tried a different opening combination in the friendly match against Bangladesh. Skipper Rohit Sharma opened the batting along with Sanju Samson. Young batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was left out of the batting line-up while Virat Kohli was rested after joining the Indian squad a day ago.
Cricket experts and analysts believe that Virat Kohli will open the batting along with Rohit Sharma in Team India’s opening match of the T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue will play their first match against the Ireland national cricket team on Wednesday 5 June at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground in New York.
Rishabh Pant will be sent as number 3 – Aakash Chopra
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra suggested that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are likely to open the innings along with Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav. Chopra said Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube will feature as finishers in the ICC tournament.
“There is a possibility that both the openers will be right-handed. They are the two most experienced players – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Rishabh Pant is likely to be sent at No. 3 and Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. Then, if Surya gets out, Hardik Pandya will come and when Pant goes out, Shivam Dube will come.” Chopra said.
The former India opener questioned why the team’s batting order was finalized so late. Chopra said it would have been better to have clarity earlier about Virat and Rohit’s opening partnership.
“I think the team composition will be like this. But I have another question for you. My question is – why have we found out about this now? Wouldn’t it have been ideal if we had known in advance that Virat and Rohit were going to open? ?” Chopra added.
Rohit and Jaiswal were considered as India’s T20 World Cup openers before IPL 2024. However, Jaiswal had an inconsistent performance with Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2024. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is with Royal Challengers Bengaluru ( RCB).
We are playing with almost the same XI – Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator said India’s batting lineup was similar to previous tournaments. Chopra emphasized that including Shivam Dube instead of KL Rahul does not change the core much.
“After the last World Cup, we have honestly been playing with almost the same XI or batting lineup since then. Move it up and down a little bit, take out KL Rahul and bring in Shivam Dube in his place. So we haven’t changed much.” Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra highlighted the lack of clearly defined roles in the Indian team due to the limited participation of senior players in T20Is since the last T20 World Cup in 2022. Chopra said he mainly focuses on ODI cricket and playing for the franchise. IPL.
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