"I am saying keep both" - Aakash Chopra on Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya's place in India's T20 World Cup squad

Aakash Chopra reckons India should pick both Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya in their 2024 T20 World Cup squad.

Hardik missed the recently concluded T20I series against Afghanistan as he is yet to recover from the ankle injury he sustained during last year's ODI World Cup clash against Bangladesh.

Dube, with 124 runs, was the top run-getter across both sides in the Afghanistan series. The seam-bowling all-rounder also picked up two wickets, albeit at an economy rate of 10.00.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra urged India to keep both Dube and Hardik in their T20 World Cup squad, elaborating (2:20):

"Shivam Ati Sundaram - his power is talking loudly. I felt he was sent slightly early in the third match. You could have sent either Sanju Samson or Rinku Singh ahead of him because he is not a grafter, he is an attacker. He reminds me of Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh). So you need to keep him slightly down the order."

"The way he hit sixes in the first two matches, the power was evident. Some people have even said to leave Hardik and pick Dube. I am saying keep both. Shivam Dube is a real contender based on these three matches. If he does well in the IPL, it will be the icing on the cake," the former India opener added.

Chopra highlighted that power should never be underestimated in the shortest format, especially considering the pitches in the Caribbean and the United States are likely to be spinner-friendly, with the West Indies also having decently sized grounds.

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"We haven't got an answer to the question" - Aakash Chopra on who would be India's wicketkeeper in 2024 T20 World Cup

Sanju Samson failed to grab his chance in the final T20I against Afghanistan. [P/C: Getty]

On the wicketkeeper-batters' front, Aakash Chopra noted that both Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson didn't make the most of their opportunities against Afghanistan. He observed (3:50):

"We haven't got an answer to the question that who would be our keeper. Jitesh Sharma was played the first two matches. After that, Sanju Samson was played a match. Jitesh batted well in the first match, didn't open his account in the second, and Sanju didn't open his account in the third."

The reputed commentator isn't sure who would be India's preferred wicketkeeper-batter at the World Cup. He reasoned:

"If you ask me who would go, I would say I don't know who would go. Jitesh hasn't confirmed his spot, Sanju wasted the one chance he got, Ishan Kishan hasn't been able to be a part of the race thus far, and they didn't pick KL Rahul."

Chopra feels even the Indian team doesn't know who would be their wicketkeeper. While observing that the race has many contenders, he added that he has no clue about the eventual winner.