New Delhi, Apr 30: The announcement of India's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is imminent and anticipation is high on who will make the cut. Experts and fans alike have made their choices on who should be in the squad. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has picked his squad for the T20 World Cup on his Youtube channel.

Chopra's squad did have few surprises and did make cases for his choices with stats and the need for balance and flexibility in the squad. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal were his picks for openers with Virat Kohli as an option for both opening and no. 3 spot. While Kohli has always featured for team India at No 3, he has enjoyed another stellar season while opening for RCB, on Sunday he became the first batsman to reach the 500-run mark this season.

Suryakumar Yadav was his next pick followed by Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh. Aakash Chopra stated it could become a fight amongst the three for a spot as Yadav made his return to competitive cricket this season after a lengthy injury and Rinku Singh has not hit the same high as his previous seasons.

The next name mentioned in the squad might probably be the most unpopular choice right now in Hardik Pandya, but Aakash backed his choice stating that Hardik is the only batter out there who provides an option as a fast bowler as well. Ravindra Jadeja was his second choice as the second all-rounder in the team.

Moving on to the wicket-keepers, Aakash surprised most fans by selecting Rishab Pant and KL Rahul over Sanju Samson. Rishabh is playing some of his best cricket after returning from a career-threatening injury and is in contention for the orange cap as well.

For options as spinners, he went ahead with Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav but he did state that he would not be surprised if Axar Patel made it into the actual squad instead of Chahal.

Jasprit Bumrah was the first choice of fast bowlers and said that he was an easy choice. Arshdeep Singh was his second choice followed by the surprise pick of Deepak Chahar, he did back his inclusion stating that Deepak is one of the most economical bowlers in the powerplay where he has picked up 64 wickets in 95 innings at an economy of just 7.7.

Aakash Chopra's squad for Team India: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishab Pant (WK), KL Rahul (WK), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Chahar.

(ANI)

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