NEW DELHI: Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra suggested on Saturday that middle-order batsman Rinku Singh could potentially be the sole left-hander in India's ICC T20 World Cup squad, especially with the return of star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the T20I lineup.
The current three-match T20I series against Afghanistan sees Team India leading 1-0. The comeback of Virat and Rohit to the T20I squad comes after a hiatus of over a year, following India's substantial 10-wicket loss to England in the semifinals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
On his YouTube Channel, Aakash said, "I feel left-handers would not be there in the World Cup at all. When you select your top six batters, you will get at the most one left-hander. Only one, I am not kidding."
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"If Rohit and Virat open, and Suryakumar Yadav comes at number three, you do not have a keeper in the top three. If Jitesh (Sharma) is the keeper down the order, he is a right-hander. If Hardik Pandya comes at number, he is a right-hander. Only one left-hander will come in the middle."
"At this point in time, it seems like that left-hander will be Rinku. You might have one or two more left-handers in the squad. Despite the preparations we did for the last year or so to play left-handers, we would not be able to create a place for those left-handers," Aakash said.
Rinku has had an impressive start to his T20I career, scoring 278 runs in nine innings across 13 matches at an average of 69.50 and a strike rate of over 180. He has one half-century and best score of 68*. With his finishing abilities and calm head, Rinku seems to be a sure starter in the T20 WC, which will start on June 1 in the West Indies and the USA.
Aakash said that maybe the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja could be another left-hand batting choice.
"When it comes to left-handed batters, it will either be Ravindra Jadeja, or Rinku Singh in the middle, and that's it, because Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Jitesh Sharma - five right-handers," he said.
India will play Afghanistan in the second T20I on Sunday.
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