Aakash Chopra picks India’s squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup; leaves out MS Dhoni

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian batsman, picked his preferred Indian 14-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. The cricketer turned commentator put forth his opinions on his official YouTube channel. In the top order, he picked Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. However, he left out Shikhar Dhawan, who has had a few injury concerns in the last few months.

In fact, Rahul started getting regular chances after Dhawan injured his shoulder. Not only did he score runs, but also impressed skipper Virat Kohli and the Indian team management with his batting skills. In the middle-order, Chopra picked Shreyas Iyer ahead of Manish Pandey, who won the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy with Karnataka last year.

As the fast bowling all-rounders, Chopra went for both Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube. Due to Hardik’s injuries, Dube got a chance in the T20Is against Bangladesh and then he travelled to New Zealand as well. But after Hardik was back for the home series against South Africa, Dube lost his spot. Dube was also smashed for 34 runs in one over during a T20I versus the Kiwis.

No Washington Sundar in Aakash Chopra’s lineup

In the all-rounder’s category, Chopra also went for Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya. Jadeja’s batting has grown leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. The veteran didn’t pick Washington Sundar, who made his debut way back in 2017. In the list of fast bowlers, it didn’t spring a surprise that he went for the very experienced Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

As the third seamer, he picked Deepak Chahar, who has taken rapid strides in T20I cricket. In the keeper’s slot, Chopra picked Rishabh Pant and most importantly, left out MS Dhoni. As the spinners, Chopra picked both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. After the 2019 World Cup, on very occasions have Kuldeep and Chahal played in the same eleven.

Here is Chopra’s XI: –

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.