Akash Chopra questions IPL based selection of Indian cricketers for T20 World Cups
It was inevitable that criticism would follow the Indian team after their humiliating elimination from the T20 World Cup in 2022. The English players not only trounced the Indian squad in the semifinals, but they also humiliated them to a new degree. The English cricket team widened all the gaps in this Indian team to astonishing proportions.
On numerous social media platforms, many cricket pundits have publicly expressed their displeasure with the Indian team. An ex-cricketer and well-known analyst, Akash Chopra, publicly criticised the Indian squad and their selection on Twitter.
Akash Chopra talked about how some of the players which are picked based on thier IPL performances are later on given a different role when they’re selected for the National team. He also tweeted questioning the Team Indian selectors, who are ignoring Prithvi Shaw, he stated that if India wants to change their approach in T20s then why not choose a naturally attacking batsmen, whose natural instinct is to attack from the word go.
The selection of Team India for the World Cup has also drawn criticism from a number of other cricket experts around the globe. To say the very least, selection was not the cause for the Indian team’s infamous exit from the World Cup this year. They lost this World Cup because of their approach and the carelessness of our batsmen.
Following their elimination from the T20 World Cup group stage in 2021, Team India made the decision to adopt a far more aggressive batting approach, akin to what England had been doing for the previous four to five years. In its bilateral matches against elite teams like England, Australia, and South Africa, team India’s offensive strategy was on full display.
After the T20 World Cup in 2021, they were able to win every bilateral T20 series because of this strategy. But when the T20 World Cup 2022 rolled around, it seemed like the entire team had simply started over, adopting the same sloppy strategy. Sadly, such strategy could only get the squad through to the semifinals. It was startling to see Team India basically wreck all of their strategy that they used in the bilaterals.
However, as Akash Chopra said, choosing Prithvi Shaw would have been a wise choice given his tendency to attack at the top with all of his might. Regarding the reasons they did not choose Shaw, the selectors have been quite discreet.
Even after the T20 World Cup, it would have been ideal for the Indian squad to choose Prithvi Shaw for the New Zealand series rather than repeating their error, but that has not happened.
The BCCI has fired the whole selectors panel, thus the Indian team should expect some significant changes for the upcoming series. This, in my opinion, is a step in the right direction that also demonstrates that BCCI is truly prepared to take some decisive action.
