Team India walked into the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE as one of the favorites to win it. But all those dreams came crashing down as they were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage, having been defeated by Pakistan and New Zealand.
Once again, the Men in Blue flew to the UAE for the Asia Cup 2022, this time with Rohit Sharma serving as captain and Rahul Dravid serving as head coach. But once again, the team's performance in a multi-nation competition was forgettable.
The Indian team was ousted in the Super 4 stage after suffering two losses in a row.
According to former India opener Aakash Chopra, the issue is more to do with the frequent changes being made in the playing XI than it is with the captain or coach.
"When we lost here last year, many said it was because of Virat Kohli and that they should change the captain. Now even Rohit Sharma couldn't win here. So that shows that the team selection is the problem and not the captain," said Chopra on his Youtube channel.
He pointed out that during the T20 World Cup 2021, certain players were picked out of the blue and left out Chahal.
"Last time you suddenly picked players out of the blue and left out (Yuzvendra) Chahal. You opened with Ishan Kishan. And now you continue to do the same. You opened with Ishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, and Deepak Hooda, and now suddenly you don't have Dinesh Karthik the finisher at No. 7 and have just three (fast) bowling options," he said.
According to Chopra, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who will face off in the finals on Sunday, have rarely changed their starting XI throughout the competition.
“India might play Deepak Chahar and Akshar Patel or Ravi Bishnoi. You need to play wicket-taking bowlers and play DK if you aren't going to give Hooda any overs. There is a lack of clarity in the planning. We do so many changes looking at the opposition, but Sri Lanka and Pakistan have made just one change each and yet are in the final,” he said.
(HT INPUTS)
