T20 World Cup 2022: "It is like the petrol in Maruti Suzuki" - Aakash Chopra on England's strengths heading into the tournament
Aakash Chopra has picked England's power-packed batting as their biggest strength heading into the T20 World Cup 2022.
England will begin their campaign against Afghanistan in Group 1 of the Super 12 stage in Perth on Saturday, October 22. They head into the tournament with T20I series wins against Pakistan and Australia apart from a victory in the warm-up game against the Men in Green.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that England's formidable batting lineup could be their biggest asset. He said:
"If you talk about England, you speak only about one strength, you ask everyone to see their batting. It doesn't stop at all. It is like the petrol in Maruti Suzuki - papaji khatam hi nahin hunda. It is that type of batting."
Chopra highlighted that England have destructive batters throughout their order. The former India batter elaborated:
"They start with Jos Buttler, then there is Phil Salt, Dawid Malan, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Harry Brook, Chris Woakes - how much batting they have. Even Chris Jordan comes and plays the big shots. There is no player who does not hit."
Chopra reckons last year's semi-finalists might not be hit hard by the injury-enforced absence of Jonny Bairstow. He explained:
"I might have forgotten a name or two as well because this is that sort of a team. They have so many batters. We are saying Jonny Bairstow is not there but despite that, what might they have. In the warm-up match against Pakistan, they hit some amazing shots, whoever was coming was hitting not sixes, but eights. This team has got some real firepower."
Stokes, Livingstone, Brook, Curran doing some serious damage. And that's with Salt & Hales going early and Jos, Moeen & Malan sitting it out. The batting riches England currently possess are borderline unfair 💥
Bairstow was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after undergoing surgery for a freak leg injury he suffered while playing golf. Apart from the aforementioned players, England also have Alex Hales, who could be seen opening the batting with Jos Buttler.
"They understand the DNA of T20 cricket quite well" - Aakash Chopra on England's other strength
Chopra concluded by picking England's fielding and their expertise in the shortest format as their other big strength. The reputed commentator stated:
"Other than that, this team's catch conversion is good. This team has the ability to save runs with their fielding. They understand the DNA of T20 cricket quite well. That's an entirely good thing for Team England."
England possess a well-rounded squad that can demolish any opposition side. They will be a hard nut to crack if their big-hitting batters are at the top of their game.