Aakash Chopra has starkly questioned Indias readiness for the 2024 T20 World Cup emphasizing the critical nature of early planning. His concerns center around the pivotal decision of selecting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to open the batting for the Men in Blue.
India is poised to collide with Ireland in the electrifying setting of New York in their T20 World Cup curtainraiser on Wednesday June 5. The surprising omission of Yashasvi Jaiswal from the warmup duel against Bangladesh has stirred discussions fueling speculations among experts that the formidable KohliRohit partnership will lead the charge at the top of the batting order.
In a video posted to his YouTube page, Aakash Chopra mused on India’s likely batting order and questioned if it should have been determined sooner.
“There are chances of both openers being right-handed. They are your two most experienced players – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. It seems like Rishabh Pant will be sent at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav will be at No. 4, and then if Surya gets out, Hardik Pandya will come, and if Pant gets out, Shivam Dube will come.”
“It seems like the team composition will be like this. But I ask a different question. My question is – why are we coming to know about this now? Would it not have been ideal to know earlier that Virat and Rohit are going to open?”
Aakash Chopra
Rohit and Jaiswal emerged as potential partners at the top of the order for India in the impending T20 World Cup prior to IPL 2024. Nevertheless some inconsistent performances by Jaiswal for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) alongside Kohlis impressive form opening for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) likely influenced the decisionmakers to reconsider their initial plans.
Aakash Chopra Points Out Similarities in India’s 2024 and Previous T20 World Cup Batting Lineups
Aakash Chopra pointed out that India’s anticipated batting order is similar to that of the last T20 World Cup.
“When the last World Cup ended, from then till now, to be honest, we are playing almost with the same XI or the batting personnel. Move them a little up and down, leave out KL Rahul and bring Shivam Dube in his place, it’s exactly the same. So we haven’t changed much.”
Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator also stated that the players were not informed of the minor changes in positions ahead of time.
“The interesting thing is that the roles that have been changed as well, no one was told that their roles are going to be changed – ‘We are changing but you will come to know about it in the World Cup’. Personally, not ideal at all. The main reason for that is that no senior played for one-and-a-half years after the World Cup ended.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra ascribed the lack of job clarity on veteran players who had not played T20Is for a lengthy period of time.
“If you don’t play T20 cricket, you have never played together. You play for your respective franchises and come together in ODI cricket. The players are so senior that they know their roles well, they will do their job, but don’t we think everyone’s roles should be defined?”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra mentioned that Rishabh Pant was the lone player whose availability was unclear. He finished by stating that he feels India is somewhat behind in preparation since they are still working out their batting order.