IND vs SL: "Hardik Pandya Will Be The Captain Even If Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Or Anyone Is Available"- Aakash Chopra

Regardless of whether all of India’s senior players, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, are eligible for selection, Hardik Pandya, in Aakash Chopra‘s opinion, will serve as the team’s T20I captain. 

A 16-person Indian team will be led by Pandya in the forthcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. As Kohli is supposedly resting for the three T20Is before the ODI series against the same challenges, Rohit is still recovering from his thumb issue. 

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Aakash Chopra Believes Hardik Pandya Will Remain Captain Even If Everyone Is Available

Aakash Chopra discussed India’s T20I team in a video posted on his YouTube channel. In response to Hardik’s selection as captain, he said: 

“The big news is that Hardik Pandya has become the T20 captain. I feel Hardik Pandya will be the captain even if Rohit, Kohli or anyone is available. Rohit was unavailable and no one is telling about Kohli, because the selection committee hasn’t said anything about who they have rested and who they have dropped.” 

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We Really Don’t Know If Rishabh Pant’s Name Will Come: Aakash Chopra

Given that Rishabh Pant would likely miss the Sri Lanka series owing to workload management, Chopra is doubtful if he will be selected for the upcoming limited-overs series against New Zealand. Aakash Chopra explains: 

“We have been trying to read news based on sources until now. It has been heard that because there is a four-Test series against Australia, Pant has been sent to the NCA for workload management. But before that, there will be six matches against New Zealand, we really don’t know if his name will come in that or not.” 

Pant allegedly received a strength and conditioning move to the National Cricket Academy. In white-ball cricket, the nimble wicketkeeper-batter hasn’t exactly made a splash, but he hopes to get back into the fray soon to make his case for a berth in India’s team for the ODI World Cup next year. 

It Seems They Are Probably Going Away From Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Aakash Chopra

According to Aakash Chopra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s non-selection suggests that the team leadership and selectors are seeking further than a seasoned pace bowler. He noticed: 

“Bhuvi and Shami are both now not part of the T20 squad. We don’t know if Shami was available or not, because he was not there for the Tests. I feel Bhuvi would have been available, he had gone to New Zealand as well, but his name is not there in this team. It seems they are probably going away from Bhuvi.” 

Yuzvendra Chahal, in Chopra’s opinion, will play for India in the three Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka because: 

“Yuzi Chahal is the only leg-spinner in the T20I squad, which means Ravi Bishnoi who used to be there with him, his name is no longer there, and Kuldeep Yadav is also not there. So the Indian team is ready to go with just one leg-spinner and it seems he will get to play.”

All three of India’s spinners—Chahal, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar—will likely be used in the starting XI, and Axar and Sundar will also provide the necessary batting power. They will be required to make a difficult decision, though, if they decide to deploy three specialist seamers rather than just two spinners. 

Also Read: IND vs SL: “If He Doesn’t Perform, He’ll Be Shown The Exit Door”- Reetinder Singh Sodhi On KL Rahul 

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah