‘Rohit is back, Don’t think that Hardik Pandya….’ – Aakash Chopra makes audacious claim on captaincy ahead of T20 World Cup 2024

The Indian Cricket Board has announced the three matches of the T20I squad against Afghanistan series on January 7. Notably, the squad marked the presence of the star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the series. Both batting legends were not part of the T20I series since India’s 10-wicket loss in the semi-final T20 World Cup 2022 against England in Adelaide.

Speaking of which, the former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli would not be part of the team if selection had been done right after the 2022 T20 World Cup. In addition, the well-renowned cricket commentator says that both batting stalwarts got the chance in the T20I squad owing to their great performances in the ODI World Cup 2023, which helped India reach the final of the tournament.

“Let’s address the elephant in the room. Rohit is back as the captain. Interestingly enough, I could possibly give you in writing that if this team had been picked within six months of the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli wouldn’t have been there. After that, the ODI World Cup happened, where we saw Rohit batting destructively and Virat Kohli became the Player of the Tournament. So Rohit is there as the captain and I feel he will captain in the World Cup also. It was a landmark selection because if he plays the World Cup, he will play as captain only,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

It’s decided that Virat Kohli will also be playing the T20 World Cup: Aakash Chopra

The cricketer-turned-analyst highlights that Hardik Pandya won’t be leading the side in the T20 World Cup 2024, which is slated to take place in June in the West Indies and the USA.

“Don’t think that Hardik (Pandya) will become the captain when he comes. I can almost tell you in writing that it won’t happen. It’s decided that Virat Kohli will also be playing in the T20 World Cup,” he added further.