Aakash Chopra picks India's T20 WC squad based on IPL 2022 performances, excludes Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

Former India batter Aakash Chopra named his preferred India squad for the T20 World Cup, based on the performance of players in the recently concluded IPL 2022. Some surprising players were added along with the exclusion of some big names like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

There is still some time left before the kick-off of the mega event later this year. However, the former batter picked up his squad and excluded names like Kohli, Rohit, and even Rishabh Pant. Notably, Kohli managed to score only 341 runs in 16 matches, while Rohit scored 268 runs in 14 matches in IPL 2022. Chopra considered the opening pair of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan while Rahul Tripathi was given the opportunity in the No.3.

“The first name I am keeping is KL Rahul. He can play till 15-17 overs, he is a T20 gun batter and scored more than 600 runs this year. I have kept Ishan Kishan along with him. If you see his numbers, you will say it was not that bad a season for Ishan Kishan. At No. 3, I have kept Rahul Tripathi. He played very well this, strike rate has been very high, and given match-winning performances. At No. 4, I have kept SKY. He has not played all the games but he has played at a different level in the matches he played,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.

He included Hardik Pandya as the captain of the side as he guided Gujarat Titans to win the trophy in their first attempt.

“After that, my Player of the Tournament. I have made Hardik Pandya the captain of the team. He can play in the middle and be a finisher as well. After that, I have given a spot to Dinesh Karthik and he is my wicketkeeper as well. He has run at a strike rate of 180-190 and finished a lot of matches.” Ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Chopra went with Krunal Pandya. For the bowling unit, he opted for Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, and Yuzi Chahal,” Chopra said.

“At No. 7, I have kept Krunal Pandya because he has had a very good season. He has been very economical as a bowler and scored crucial runs as a batter. He can bat up and down the order. You require a left-hander in the middle. After that, Yuzi Chahal has to be by my side. Then I have three fast bowlers and the fourth fast bowler is Hardik Pandya – Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, and Arshdeep Singh. I am seeing this as the XI”. He concluded with some names like Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah as reserves,” he added.

Akash Chopra’s India’s T20 World Cup squad based on IPL 2022 performances

KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (c), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah.