Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra reckons senior Indian players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be phased out of India’s T20I plans in the near future. The trio were a part of the T20 World Cup 2022 squad, but haven’t played in the shortest format since India’s semifinal defeat against England.
Chopra highlighted that upcoming youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal have lit up the IPL 2023 season. He believes they have embraced the ultra-attacking brand of cricket that the Men in Blue had promised in the shortest format.
“I feel the next generation of cricketers for this format is almost getting ready and the previous generation of players will find it increasingly difficult to be a part of the new template,” Aakash Chopra was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times in a media interaction arranged by Jio Cinema.
“This is an ODI World Cup year so anyway India will be playing fewer T20I games in the remaining year,” he added. “But whatever matches they play, I don’t think you will see Kohli, Rohit or Rahul play. You don’t even know when Rahul will actually be available. That is why I’m saying, things will change in the next 90 days.”
Aakash Chopra on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh’s success
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh have both had a breakout IPL season this year. Many have demanded them to be included in India’s T20I plans, and Aakash Chopra pointed out that good both the left-handers have been in domestic cricket across formats.
“For Yashasvi I have in fact kept a timeline,” he said. “I feel he will be in the Indian team in the next 90 days. The other one I feel is Rinku Singh and it is time to take him a lot more seriously. Remember, these two aren’t just a T20 phenomenon. Rinku has a first-class average of 60 while Yashasvi has scored over 1000 runs in his short domestic career so far. So they have been performing in other formats at as well it is just that the world tends to focus more on a player when it happens in the IPL.”
Both Jaiswal and Rinku could receive a well-deserved call-up to the Indian team for the upcoming T20Is against the West Indies.
Edited by
Sankalp Srivastava
