Aakash Chopra on India’s choices for T20 World Cup: “Only one left-hander will come in the middle”

Aakash Chopra, a former Indian opener, said on Saturday that middle-order batter Rinku Singh might be the only left-hander in India’s ICC T20 World Cup team now that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in the T20I setup.

The first game of the three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan has been played, and India is ahead 1-0. It’s been more than a year since Virat and Rohit played in a T20I match. That was after India lost badly to England by 10 wickets in the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Aakash wrote on his YouTube channel, “I don’t think there would be any left-handers in the World Cup at all.” You will get no more than one left-handed batter when you pick your top six hitters. Only one, I’m not joking.”

“You don’t have a keeper in the top three if Rohit and Virat open and Suryakumar Yadav comes in at number three.” As far down the line, Jitesh Sharma is the keeper and he hits with his right hand. When Hardik Pandya bats first, he does so with his right hand. There can only be one lefty in the middle. “Rinku looks like he will be that left-handed batter right now.” There may be one or two more left-handed players on your team. “No matter how hard we worked over the last year or so to be ready to play left-handers, we couldn’t find a spot for them,” Aakash said.

With an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of over 180, Rinku has had a great start to his T20I career. He has scored 278 runs in nine games across 13 matches. He has one fifty and a best score of 68*. The T20 WC starts on June 1 in the West Indies and the USA. Rinku looks like he will be a sure starter because he can finish balls well and keep his cool. Aakash suggested that Ravindra Jadeja, an all-rounder, could also be a left-handed batter. “When it comes to left-handed batters, it will either be Ravindra Jadeja, or Rinku Singh in the middle, and that’s it, because Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Jitesh Sharma – five right-handers,” he stated. On Sunday, India will play Afghanistan in the second T20I.

India squad for Afghanistan series: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav.