On Tuesday (November 9), BCCI named a 16-member Indian squad for a 3-match T20I series between India and New Zealand, starting from November 17. Rohit Sharma was chosen as the successor to Kohli for the captaincy of Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game.

Regular names like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Ravindra Jadeja were rested because of their prolonged period of cricket.

Another name that was missing from the squad was of injury-ravaged Hardik Pandya. However, unlike others, the 28-year old all-rounder is deemed to have been dropped from the Indian T20I set-up.

While speaking regarding the non-selection of Pandya, Aakash Chopra mentioned that it raises a lot of questions. He believes that Hardik, who missed a lot of cricketing action due to his back injury, didn’t needed a rest.

Chopra, in his video, opined that the selectors have named too many openers in the 16-member squad. With skipper Rohit Sharma and deputy KL Rahul certainties to open for the side, India have selected Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer in the squad as well.

While mentioning the selection of multiple openers in the team, Chopra also underlined the importance of allowing a player to play in his preferred slot. He elucidated that playing an opener in the No.5 slot would not benefit neither the individual nor the team. Aakash Chopra said:

“Harshal, Ruturaj, Avesh and Siraj are excellent pick but Venkatesh Iyer has played just 7 IPL matches”. - Aakash Chopra

Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer were unanimously picked for their magnificent performances in the 2021 IPL.

However, the former cricketer-turned-expert exclaimed that the selection of opener Venkatesh Iyer had been on the back of just seven IPL encounters. Chopra compared V. Iyer’s selection to that of Chetan Sakariya’s for the Sri Lankan tour in July this year. The 46-year old opined:

The 3-match T20I series will begin on November 17 in Jaipur, before moving to Ranchi for the second T20I. Kolkata will host the third and final T20I of the series.

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