Asia Cup 2022: "We are even winning when Virat and Rohit are not there" - Aakash Chopra on India's strengths
Aakash Chopra has picked India's winning habit, even in the absence of stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at times, as one of their strengths heading into the 2022 Asia Cup.
The continental T20 tournament will be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. The Men in Blue will face Pakistan in their tournament opener on Sunday, August 28.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that India carrying winning momentum into the Asia Cup will be one of their strengths. The former India opener elaborated:
"Winning habit. Both winning and losing are habits. India have won 22 out of their last 29 matches, and four of the last five. We are even winning when Virat and Rohit are not there. We are learning to win from difficult situations, which I think is a very important thing."
Chopra feels there could be an intimidation factor applicable in the Asia Cup, considering the number of times Team India have won the tournament. He added that while the Men in Blue's dominance might not be applicable at the world level, it is definitely so at the continental stage.
"We are a batting powerhouse" - Aakash Chopra on India's other strength
Chopra picked India's batting might as another of their strengths. He explained:
"We are a batting powerhouse. It has reached the stage where we have to choose between Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. We are not even talking about Deepak Hooda. The truth is that if we put the three of them in the international market, every team will say that they want to play them."
Chopra pointed out that the Men in Blue can only field one among Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik and Deepak Hooda in their playing XI. The reputed commentator observed:
"They are not getting a place in India's XI. It is becoming difficult to decide who will play and who will sit out. Only out of the three might be able to play. So Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, then either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik, then Ravindra Jadeja - this is a serious batting powerhouse."
Chopra concluded by pointing out that India will have to rely on their batters to win them the tournament. He said:
"Batting is the biggest strength of this Indian team. We will have to win matches based on our batting strength. It is said that batting wins you matches, and bowling wins you tournaments, but here you might have to reverse it. Batting will have to win you a lot of games, maybe including the finals."
Most runs ✅
Most fifties ✅
Most boundaries ✅
Highest average ✅
Virat Kohli's batting numbers against Pakistan in T20I cricket are just absurd! 👏👏🔥
#ViratKohli #India #INDvsPAK #T20I #GreatestRivalry #AsiaCup https://t.co/2Agbc00bJ1
The Men in Blue have been hit hard by the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in the bowling department. They will hope that their batters rise to the occasion and make up for their premier pacer's absence from the tournament.