I Am Not Particularly Convinced With Washington Sundar For T20 WC: Aakash Chopra
Published - 02 Mar 2022, 01:09 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:05 AM
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra opined India shouldn’t consider playing too many spinners in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid are aiming to build a robust squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in the October-November window in Australia this year. The new Indian team management is exploring all the options available at their disposal.
India’s options for all-rounders in T20 World Cup
India has the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer and Washington Sundar for the all-rounder role. Jadeja returned back to the T20I series against Sri Lanka after a hiatus of three months due to his injury.
Jadeja scored 70 runs in the T20I series against Sri Lanka at a strike rate of 189.19. The left-handed batter slammed 45 runs from 18 deliveries in the second T20I as India won by seven wickets with 2.5 overs to spare.
Not thinking about Washington Sundar at this point in time: Aakash Chopra
Meanwhile, Sundar hasn’t played a T20I match for India for close to a year although he played three ODI matches against West Indies last month. The Tamil Nadu spinner was ruled out of the West Indies T20I series after he suffered a hamstring muscle strain. Sundar has scored 47 runs from 11 innings batting the lower order in the shortest format for India.
Chopra said he isn’t convinced with Sundar’s performance in T20Is and believes that Jadeja will be India’s first-choice spin all-rounder. Chopra also mentioned that Hardik Pandya and Venkatesh Iyer will contend with each other for the fast bowling all-rounder slot.
“I am not thinking about Washington Sundar at this point in time. He is there in mind but I am not convinced because his batting in T20s lower down the order, I am not particularly convinced. So I will probably not go towards him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“If we talk about all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja is confirmed there. There will be no question there. It is Australia, so I would say there is no need to take too many spinners.
“I am keeping two players with Ravindra Jadeja – Venkatesh Iyer and Hardik Pandya. Venkatesh Iyer seems to be ahead at the moment but I won’t be surprised if Hardik Pandya wins this race.”
“The two slots that are there for all-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja as spinning all-rounder, Hardik Pandya as a fast-bowling all-rounder, that’s it. Venkatesh Iyer’s name is there but the day Hardik starts bowling, I think he will pip Venkatesh Iyer to the post,” he added.
After defeating Sri Lanka in the T20I series, India won their 12th T20I series to equal the record of Afghanistan.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Should Be Opening The Batting With Rohit Sharma For India In T20Is: Brad Hogg
