“He could be a 3rd opening option” - Aakash Chopra on Team India’s probable World Cup 2023 squad

Former India batter Aakash Chopra reckons that Ishan Kishan could be the third opening option in the Men in Blue’s 2023 World Cup squad - a backup for Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Skipper Rohit and Gill looked set to open the innings for Team India in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which will be played in India from October 5 to November 19.

In a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked to pick his probable squad for the 2023 World Cup. While admitting that Kishan does not have a strong chance of making the team as a middle-order batter, he opined that the left-hander could be considered for the backup opener’s role.

“It’s very simple. Rohit Sharma will open with Shubman Gill. There is Virat Kohli. Because Rishabh Pant is not there, I am going with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Hardik Pandya, without doubt, he is going to be there. I am not looking at Ishan Kishan at this point in time as a middle-order option. He could be a third-opening option as a keeper-batter. You need a left-hander and he also has an ODI double hundred," he ssaid.

Shifting the focus to the bowling, he added that while Yuzvendra Chahal is certain for him, he would also give a thought about picking left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

“In the bowling, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and then I’ll look at Yuzi Chahal. I will think about Kuldeep Yadav as well. I can’t finalize my team now because we have to wait on Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul’s fitness,” Chopra added.

According to recent reports, while Bumrah and Shreyas could feature in the T20I series against Ireland, Rahul is unlikely to be fit even for the Asia Cup.

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“It seems like his name won’t be there” - Chopra on chances of Dhawan being part of World Cup 2023

Replying to another query on the chances of veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan being picked for the World Cup, Chopra candidly stated that he doesn’t see that happening. According to the 45-year-old, the rise of Gill has pretty much sealed the left-hander’s fate.

“It will be a travesty if Shikhar Dhawan won’t be part of the one-day team in the World Cup. But it seems like his name won’t be there because the World Cup is just a few months away. Why he is not being picked, I don’t have the answer for that. When Shubman Gill was on the rise, Dhawan hadn’t done too badly, but then the latter suddenly became obsolete," Chopra opined.

Dhawan, 37, was dropped from the Indian one-day team after a poor series against Bangladesh in December 2022. He registered scores of 7, 8, and 3 in the three-match series.