Former India opener Aakash Chopra is hopeful that Team India is likely to field a squad very similar to the one in the 2022 edition for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA, commencing in June.
Chopra predicts that senior aggressive batsman Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team. The former Test opener turned expert Chopra’s prediction came following the schedule announcement by the ICC on Friday.
“Rohit Sharma will be doing the captaincy in the tournament since star all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s fitness is making it difficult for him to play currently,” said Chopra on his official YouTube channel.
“Hardik will probably not be the captain because there is an issue regarding fitness. You are not playing currently. You twisted your ankle in the World Cup. You are not playing the Afghanistan series and you don’t play Tests in any case, so you will straightaway play the IPL. It is going against him,” the former opener said.
“I feel Rohit Sharma will be doing T20I captaincy and will also be the captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup. If you had asked this question after the 2022 T20 World Cup, it was almost certain he would not be the captain, considering the way the team performed as we were scoring 60 runs in the first 10 overs,” he added.
Notably, one of cricket’s longstanding rivalries will be reignited as India is set to face Pakistan in New York on June 9.