Aakash Chopra Expresses His Surprise At India's 17-Member T20I Squad For South Africa T20Is

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is a tad surprised at India’s 17-member squad for the three-match T20I series against South Africa. The BCCI announced squads for India’s full-fledged tour to South Africa between December -January.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Ravindra Jadeja will be the vice-captain. Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chshar are the two names that will continue to be a part of the team from the ongoing Australia series. Several other names are also retained for the three-match series. Meanwhile, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju continue to be ignored by the T20I side. Both have been picked in India’s ODI squad in a year that hosts the T20 World Cup.

Also Read: India To Make 2-3 Changes To The Playing XI For Fourth T20I, Reveals Aakash Chopra

Chopra spoke about the Indian T20I squad first speaking about Kohli and Rohit‘s exclusion from the T20I side.

“There was a lot of speculation about whether Rohit Sharma will become the T20I captain and whether Virat Kohli will once again be seen playing T20Is but nothing has happened. Rohit and Kohli are unavailable. Both asked for a break and both have been given a break” said Chopra.

17 People For Three Games, Why? Aakash Chopra On India’s Team Selection

He further questioned the logic behind selecting a 17-member squad for a three-match T20I series by the selectors.

“Suryakumar Yadav is the captain here, which is fair. Ravindra Jadeja is the vice-captain of this team. It is an interesting development. A 17-member team has been announced. 17 people for three games – why?” Aakash Chopra further said.

Chopra further analysed the squad posing the question as to who bats where with the inclusion of players like Shubman Gill. Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj. India have four potential openers Shubman Gill Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ishan Kishan in the T20I squad selected.

“It is almost the same team that is playing here (vs Australia). Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja have come in. It will be interesting to see who bats where because Yashasvi, Shubman, and Ruturaj – all cannot open” highlighted Chopra.

He concluded by saying that a few players might not play a single game in the series given the options that the management has at their disposal. Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, and Ravindra Jadeja are the four specialist spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, and Deepak Chahar are the specialist seamers in the squad.

“Then Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. All of them cannot play. So it will be interesting for whoever tries to make the XI from this. Ultimately, there will be at least four people who won’t get to play even a single match. So you have sent them for sure but you won’t gain anything from that” Chopra concluded saying”.

Also Read: “Hope He Continues To Play ODIs and Tests”- AB De Villiers On Virat Kohli Skipping South Africa ODI Series