All Hell Will Break Loose: Aakash Chopra Worried For Team India After Stars Fail To Make It To Squad For Ireland T20Is
Published - 01 Aug 2023, 02:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:16 AM
Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has expressed his surprise over Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul not being included in the India squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Ireland this month.
The BCCI, on Monday (July 31), announced India’s squad for the three-match series. As expected, Jasprit Bumrah was named in the squad. The fast-bowler has also been named as the captain for the series as he gears up to play his first competitive match in nearly a year.
Bumrah has not played for India since last year. His last international game came against Australia in September 2022 during the home T20I series. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as the vice-captain of the team while new faces like Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma have also managed to find a spot in the T20I squad for the tour.
Aakash Chopra surprised with India squad:
Hours after the squad was announced, Aakash Chopra has questioned the non-inclusion of both Iyer and Rahul in the squad, saying that the decision implies that the batsmen are yet to regain full fitness. While he expressed his delight over Bumrah’s return, he could not help but share his concern over Rahul and Iyer’s absence.
“Jasprit Bumrah is back. Jasprit Bumrah is not only available for the three T20Is against Ireland but is also the captain of the Indian team. But both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer’s names are not there for the Ireland series. Is there still a question mark on their fitness?,” said Aakash Chopra in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“The big news is absolutely Jasprit Bumrah. He is 24-carat pure gold. He is a national asset. We have to preserve him. However, it has happened at least twice where his name has come and then he pulled back. It is important to see that now that his name has come, he is fit, ready and available, and he plays. He needs to play,” he added.
Speaking further, Aakash Chopra questioned whether Rahul and Iyer would be fit and available for the Asia Cup. Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to get underway on August 31. Both the batsmen will definitely be short on match practice if they are picked in the squad.
Iyer has not played a competitive match since suffering an injury during the Ahmedabad Test against Australia in March while Rahul suffered the injury during the IPL.
“You might say Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul’s names are not there because it is a different format. But it is a different format for Jasprit Bumrah as well. Will KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer not be ready for the Asia Cup?”
“If that is going to be the case, all hell will break loose because we are assuming that they will come. If they will not come and are out of the World Cup race, it will become very difficult. It will become difficult to create the balance. So I am now slightly worried because we don’t get much information,” said Aakash Chopra.
Both Iyer and Rahul are important parts of India’s ODI team and the team-management will be desperate to have them at the earliest before the World Cup especially after the team’s struggle in the first two ODIs against West Indies.
India squad for Ireland T20Is:
Jasprit Bumrah (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan
