'Hopefully India Will Stick With Them for Longer': Aakash Chopra Backs Two Youngsters For T20I Format

Former opener Aakash Chopra feels that India should stick with youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh in the T20Is after the BCCI announced the squad for the series against Afghanistan. The two youngsters were picked for the T20Is as it will be the last white-ball series India will be playing before T20 World Cup 2024.

India will look to make use of the three matches to better prepare for the mega ICC event which is jointly hosted by the West Indies and the United States.

The BCCI has picked senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the T20I squad after the two made themselves available after about 14 months in the shortest format. India’s semifinal defeat to England in the 2022 T20I World Cup on November 10 was the duo’s last appearance in the shortest format.

Also Read | IND vs AFG: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Return to India T20I Squad After More Than a Year

Chopra, who is very vocal about his views and opinions, said that Rinku and Yashasvi are the two players who look tailor-made for the T20Is.

“Two players who look cut out for T20 cricket are Yashasvi and Rinku. Hopefully, the team will stick with them for longer,” Chopra posted on X.

Star players Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have been ruled out of the three-match series as they are currently recovering from their respective injuries.

Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, the two Test team certainties, have been rested and Ruturaj Gaikwad isn’t fit to play yet.

The opening match of the series will be played at IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on 11th January 2024. Meanwhile, Indore and Bengaluru will host the next two matches respectively on January 14 and 17th.

Meanwhile, India recently beat Australia in the five-match T20I series 4-1 and then drew the three-match series against South Africa 1-1 after the first match got abandoned due to rain.

India’s Squad for 3 T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar