T20 World Cup: "There is complete faith in him" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammad Rizwan being the main wicket-keeper in Pakistan's squad
Aakash Chopra believes the Pakistan selectors have shown immense faith in Mohammad Rizwan by not including Sarfaraz Ahmed as a backup wicket-keeper in their T20 World Cup squad.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced their 15-member Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup. Apart from Rizwan, the squad also has Azam Khan as a wicket-keeping option.
While reflecting on the Pakistan squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Sarfaraz Ahmed's non-selection is ample proof of the trust Rizwan enjoys. He elaborated:
"Mohammad Rizwan, he is there, that means there is complete total faith in him and because of that Sarfaraz is not there anymore. He used to travel with the team but there is no shadow required anymore. Rizwan has been outstanding with the bat in T20Is in 2021."
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The cricketer-turned-commentator advised Shadab Khan to concentrate more on his bowling. Aakash Chopra explained:
"Babar Azam is the captain. Shadab Khan is the vice-captain, I would say think about taking wickets, runs will automatically be scored in the batting because when the all-rounder tag is attached, the bowling becomes neglected at times."
Shadab Khan has picked up just a couple of wickets in the last four T20Is he has bowled for Pakistan. He smashed an unbeaten 36 off just 22 deliveries in the first of those matches.
"Asif Ali's international numbers are very ordinary" - Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra pointed out that there are question marks over Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah's selections. He reasoned:
"There was debate about Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah. Asif Ali has got a huge reputation in domestic cricket, PSL etc. But if you see his international numbers, after 29 T20Is, they are very ordinary - average of 16 and strike rate of 123. Khushdil also has a similar story."
The 43-year-old signed off by stating that while Mohammad Hafeez made the cut, his old mate Shoaib Malik failed to find favor with the selectors. Aakash Chopra said:
"Shoaib Malik is not there but Mohammad Hafeez is there. Hafeez's last six-odd months in T20I cricket have not been that good but he has been absolutely outstanding in the 18 months prior to that. Hasan Ali has also had a meteoric rise, he regained his form after playing a lot of first-class cricket."
Aakash Chopra also feels that Pakistan and India should make it through to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup from their group.