"17 people for 3 games - why?" - Aakash Chopra on India's T20I squad for South Africa tour
Aakash Chopra has questioned the selectors for picking a 17-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa.
The Men in Blue will travel to the Rainbow Nation for three T20Is followed by three ODIs and two Tests, with the first T20I to be played in Durban on Sunday, December 10. With Hardik Pandya unavailable and Rohit Sharma being given a break for the limited-overs series, Suryakumar Yadav will be at the helm of the 17-member T20I squad.
Reflecting on the T20I squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra observed that Rohit and Virat Kohli will continue to be out of action in the shortest format. He was perplexed by the selectors' call to choose an extended squad, saying (0:01):
"There was a lot of speculation about whether Rohit Sharma will become the T20I captain and whether Virat Kohli will once again be seen playing T20Is but nothing has happened. Rohit and Kohli are unavailable. Both asked for a break and both have been given a break."
The former India opener added (1:15):
"Suryakumar Yadav is the captain here, which is fair. Ravindra Jadeja is the vice-captain of this team. It is an interesting development. A 17-member team has been announced. 17 people for three games - why?"
Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj, who were given a break after the recently concluded World Cup, have been included in the T20I squad for the South Africa tour. Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Shivam Dube, who are part of the Indian squad for the ongoing T20I series against Australia, have been left out.
"It will be interesting to see who bats where" - Aakash Chopra
![Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened in the first three T20Is against Australia. [P/C: AP]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/12/ac863-17014028533918-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra feels the think-tank might have a tough job deciding the batting order. He elaborated (1:45):
"It is almost the same team that is playing here (vs Australia). Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja have come in. It will be interesting to see who bats where because Yashasvi, Shubman and Ruturaj - all cannot open."
Chopra reckons quite a few players might not get to play a single game. He stated:
"Then Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan. All of them cannot play. So it will be interesting for whoever tries to make the XI from this. Ultimately, there will be at least four people who won't get to play even a single match. So you have sent them for sure but you won't gain anything from that."
With Ravindra Jadeja being named as the vice-captain, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar will fight for the second spinner's position. Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and Deepak Chahar will compete for three potential spots in the playing XI in the seam-bowling department.