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After the completion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, the focus has now shifted to the upcoming major international event, i.e. T20 World Cup 2022.
Notably, Team India had a terrible campaign in the previous edition of the multi-team tournament. Despite being a strong side, the ‘Men in Blue’ could not make it to the group stage and were eliminated from the tournament.
Now under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, India will be aiming to change the fortunes. The 20-over showcase is set to take place in Australia from October 16 to November 13. In the build-up to the competition, the focus of various teams has been shifted towards the shortest format of the game. Team India are also expected to play quite a few T20 matches against South Africa, England and Australia before the T20 World Cup.
No wonder the experts have already started making their predictions regarding who will get a place in the final squad. Following the bandwagon, former India opener Aakash Chopra has also picked his India squad for the upcoming mega event.
However, Chopra has picked the squad with a slight twist. In a video on his YouTube channel, the cricketer-turned-commentator asked his viewers to imagine a scenario where the T20 World Cup was to start immediately.
Keeping this in mind, Chopra selected an Indian squad based purely on the players’ performances in the IPL 2022. Understandably so, the Agra-born omitted some big names, including captain Rohit Sharma, former skipper Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant.
Not to mention, the likes of Rohit, Kohli and Pant had failed to perform up to expectations in IPL 2022. Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit averaged just 19.14 in 14 matches and scored 268 runs, while Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star Kohli scored 341 in 16 games and averaged 22.73. Similarly, Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Pant managed to score 340 in 14 games at an average of 30.91.
Despite not opting for the stars mentioned above, the 16-member squad that Chopra picked looks quite strong on paper. Some of the familiar names featured in his squad by the 44-year-old were KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dinesh Karthik and Mohammed Shami.
Aakash Chopra’s India squad for T20 World Cup 2022:
KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Avesh Khan, Krunal Pandya, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.
