Former Indian cricket team player Aakash Chopra, in a video on his YouTube channel, asked viewers to imagine a scenario where the T20 World Cup was to start immediately. Keeping this as the primary condition he chose an Indian squad based purely on the players' performances in the recently concluded IPL 2022 and omitted some big names including captain Rohit Sharma, former captain Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 several top names like India captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant could not perform up to expectations. Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit averaged just 19.14 in 14 matches and scored 268 runs. Royal Challengers Bangalore's former captain Virat Kohli scored 341 in 16 games and averaged 22.73. Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant also could not set the stage on fire and scored 340 in 14 games at an average of 30.91.
"Let's just assume that the T20 World Cup will not start from October-November but from tomorrow and we have to pick a side based only on the performance in the IPL. And, reputations are not going to count for anything. You might think that is not going to happen. But let's indulge in making a team just based on the performance in the IPL, then how would the team look?" Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
"This team does not have many big names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma. But they are 100 per cent going to play when the World Cup happens. Even Rishabh Pant is not there. These are the three main players who names are not there."
However, the 16-member squad that Chopra picked looks quite strong on paper. This is the full squad that Chopra picked: KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Rahul Tripathi, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Avesh Khan, Krunal Pandya, Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel and Jasprit Bumrah.
"Captain of the team for the World Cup, according to only the IPL performance, I have got Hardik Pandya as the captain. He is batting, bowling. I have kept him at No. 5 batting spot, but he can bat at No. 4 too. He is a gun player. If he bowls, he gives you three overs. If he bats, he can do wonders. He can play in the middle as well as the finisher. His strike-rate was low but I am not picking him only as a batter, I am picking as an allrounder and as a captain," Chopra said.