"Players are not made but wasted" - Aakash Chopra suggests 3 major changes for Team India for T20 World Cup 2022

Aakash Chopra has suggested three foundational changes for Team India in the aftermath of their early exit from the T20 World Cup 2021.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, the former opener said India first need to bring "consistency and clarity" to team selections. He cited the example of Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, and Varun Chakravarthy, who were all dropped either out of the blue or after limited opportunities, to explain his point.

Aakash Chopra said:

"The first thing is consistency and clarity in selection. Yuzi Chahal was our No.1 spinner in the T20s for the last 4-5 years... we dropped him just ahead of the World Cup and then grabbed him again. What is this? It makes absolutely no sense to leave out your primary spinner. Then you gave Rahul Chahar just one game and left him too. Players are not made but wasted like this. Making players is difficult and wasting them is easy... Rahul Chahar will think, 'What did I do wrong?' Varun Chakravarthy will think, 'What did I do wrong to go from mystery to history in one week?' What is this? Consistency in selection is very, very important."

Aakash Chopra added that India needs to build a distinctive 'identity' or 'philosophy' in white-ball cricket to match those of other successful teams ahead of next year's T20 World Cup. Aakash Chopra remarked:

"Second is the brand of cricket. We don't have an identity in white-ball cricket. What is our style of play? With New Zealand, there is a process and planning that goes behind a proper chess game. England play bravely and freely. Even if their bowling is a bit light they don't stop hitting. Pakistan too has a mix of bowling variations, fast bowlers who get you wickets with the new ball and then they will try to squeeze you dry. We don't have any philosophy. We are just a good team which will win if it plays good. So we need to develop that philosophy."

India couldn't reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021, capping the Men in Blue's worst ICC tournament in almost a decade. New head coach Rahul Dravid and new T20I skipper Rohit Sharma have the arduous job of rebuilding the team from scratch in less than a year.

"Players should be selected only for the positions where they have performed" - Aakash Chopra

Finally, Aakash Chopra asked for more role clarity for the players. He argued that Venkatesh Iyer, who performed well as an opener in IPL 2021 is selected as a finisher for the upcoming New Zealand T20Is and might be dropped if he isn't to fulfill that role. Aakash Chopra explained:

"We also need more clarity in roles. Pick players for their specific roles or don't pick them at all. You picked Chetan Sakariya and Nitish Rana and then dropped them. Now you have picked Venkatesh Iyer - what if you drop him after some time? And you will drop him after playing him in a position where he hasn't scored runs. I believe players should be selected only for the positions where they have performed."

Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid's journey along with a test of India's "new era" will begin on November 17 when the team takes on New Zealand in the first of three T20Is in Jaipur.