In the modern day of cricket , where Virat Kohli is considered to be the greatest player of the current era due to his pyrotechnics on and off the field, his availability for the upcoming mega event the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 has grown huge interests amongst cricket lovers and fans . Virat Kohli over the years have burdened Indian hopes on his shoulders through immaculate innings in the shortest format of the game will like to give his all in conquest of the elusive ICC title.
Though not playing T20I cricket over a year now the likes of Virat Kohli still remains a popular choice to play in shortest format. The other poster boy of Indian cricket who has carried India’s dream on his shoulder and an successful captain for his franchise in the Indian Premier league, current Indian captain Rohit Sharma is now brewing the headlines with a success on South Africa tour.
The swashbuckling opener Rohit Sharma has once again made himself available for the upcoming mega event the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 which could be his final journey in the conquest of the coveted ICC Title. However unlike Virat Rohit also has been out of T20I setup over the year and now his availability has created huge ambiguity amidst Indian fans and selectors who at once thought it could be a new team under Hardik Pandya would tour the Caribbean shores for the World Cup.
Hardik Pandya who captained India in absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recently in the white ball format is now himself injured which now increases the doubts on his recovery as well before the marquee event.
With the next big thing the ICC World T20 Cup 2024 set to take place in June and the schedule being out for the same, this extreme reactions from various fan armies have excited former cricket experts too and they too have been vocal about the posters being dropped of three Indian stars on board.
“Rohit- Virat Kohli-Hardik…all three featured in one place or other, All fan-armies happy or fighting”-Commentator cum Youtube star Aakash Chopra takes a dig at ever growing fan army.
Former Indian cricketer now turned commentator and Youtube star Aakash Chopra recently pointed out that different organizations have put up posters and promos of different players after the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the 2024 T20 World Cup schedule on Friday, January 5.
He referred to the ambiguity surrounding Indian captaincy in the T20 format in his post on X (formerly known as Twitter) as both the potential candidates Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were present in multiple posters and promos of various organizations. Aakash Chopra also mentioned the presence of Virat Kohli in the promotions.
Interestingly, ICC’s poster had Rohit Sharma in it along with other T20I captains like Jos Buttler, Shaheen Afridi, Rovman Powell, and others. A few others opted to go with Hardik Pandya , who led India in most of the matches after the 2022 T20 World Cup.
After taking note of the posters and promos, Aakash Chopra gave his opinion on it through a post on X, which read:
“So…different organization’s have put different players on posters and promos for the T20 World Cup. Rohit-Kohli-Hardik…all three featured in one place or the other. All fan-armies happy or fighting. Enough fodder. Enough engagement. Mission Accomplished”
“Who was saying that we can’t win?” – Aakash Chopra reacts to India’s victory vs South Africa
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra reviewed India’s performance in the second Test against South Africa. The Rohit Sharma-led side beat the hosts by seven wickets and won a Test for the first time in Cape Town. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj starred in the win by picking up a 6-wicket haul each in the Test. Reflecting on the win, Chopra said:
“We have broken the jinx. We have won in Cape Town. Who was saying that we can’t win? I mean, we hadn’t won till now but have won now, and interestingly enough, won on a very bad pitch. Jasprit Bumrah is a phenomenal bowler. It seemed like something wrong had happened. How could it have happened that a series got over in South Africa and Jasprit Bumrah didn’t do anything?”
Hailing Bumrah, Chopra added:
“He doesn’t go cold. He is a mighty guy. If Siraj took six wickets in the first innings, Bumrah said he is also there. When Bumrah’s ball starts going up and down, or left and right, he is unplayable.”
However with the ambiguity or uncertainty revolving around Hardik Pandya’s fitness and Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli making themselves available to play the marquee event in quest of their much coveted ICC title it would be interesting to see who leads India in the upcoming T20I World Cup 2024, leading to exciting fan wars on social media platforms.