"India's top-3 is the best in the world boss" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra has labeled India's batting top-three of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the "best in the world" three days ahead of their clash against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, the former opener observed that since the last edition of the tournament in 2016, India's top-three have scored more than 1500 runs each. The trio have managed the feat despite them not playing all T20Is, making the Indian team "absolutely robust".
Aakash Chopra said:
"Our top-three is the best in the world boss. And I am not saying this because I am an Indian. If you bring out the T20 batting stats since 2016, of course, Babar Azam has No.1 because he has made 2204 runs... but Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli - all three have made over 1500 runs. And the big thing is these three premier players don't play a lot of matches in one go. They don't play all the T20Is and the Indian team picks and chooses the matches for them. But still, they have 1500 means which means that our team is absolutely robust. They are the best in the world and we are not the only ones saying this."
Both Sharma and Rahul are in good form as well, having scored one half-century each in the two recently played warm-up games. Rahul is also coming off a brilliant IPL 2021 campaign where he scored 626 runs and an average of 62.60.
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Skipper Kohli, meanwhile, has been struggling a bit, especially in the middle overs. The same problem surfaced in the IPL and the first warm-up game too. But with the support of a fiery opening combination and a solid middle order, Kohli will fancy his chances of recreating the 2016 season where he was the Man of the series in T20 World Cup.
"This is phenomenal" - Aakash Chopra hails India's form in the leadup to the T20 World Cup
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Aakash Chopra also hailed India's international form in the leadup to the marquee tournament. He said India's win percentage since 2016, which is the best among the teams who have played more than 50 matches, is 'phenomenal'.
Aakash Chopra remarked:
"How has been India's performance in international cricket since the 2016 T20 World Cup? This is very important... We have played 88 matches which are the most among the top teams. The next best is Pakistan at 82. And only one team has a better win percentage than us which is Afghanistan who also play with a lot of associates. India plays mostly the big games where we have won 60 from 88... Our win percentage is 70.5 which is the best among the teams who have played more than 50 matches. This is phenomenal."
Aakash Chopra also feels India's record of losing just one bilateral series since the 2019 World Cup makes them the "team to beat". The former batsman concluded:
"Let's also see our performance since the 2019 World Cup where we lost in the semi-final and started our preparation for the T20 World Cup. We have played nine series and lost just once and that too when we sent our 'B' team or the 'kids' to Sri Lanka... This effort should be applauded. And if wins in the bilateral series mean anything, this is the team to beat."
The India-Pakistan T20 World Cup 2021 clash will start at 7:30 PM IST in Dubai on Sunday.