"You are not able to find a place despite Rohit and Virat not being there" - Aakash Chopra on Rahul Tripathi's non-inclusion in India's squad for SA T20Is

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Rahul Tripathi's non-inclusion in the Indian squad for the T20I series against South Africa despite Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's absence is a reflection of the prevailing competition.

Tripathi played some enterprising knocks for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022 and was favored to get his maiden Team India call-up for the series against the Proteas. However, he was ignored as the selectors opted to stick with the tried-and-tested players.

While reflecting on the chosen Indian squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra had the following to say about Tripathi's omission:

"There is no place for Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson. You want to include Rahul Tripathi but you are not able to find a place. You are not able to find a place despite Rohit and Virat not being there. That's how competitive it is."

The former Indian batter highlighted that the squad already has a plethora of top-order batters. Chopra explained:

"To be very honest, Rahul Tripathi's name could have come in this team but the problem is that they have already picked a lot of openers - KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan - there will be two openers out of these three. After that, you have Shreyas Iyer at No. 3 and Deepak Hooda, so you have five proper batters there."

With Shreyas Iyer not having a great IPL 2022, the selectors could have opted to pick Tripathi ahead of him. However, they decided to persist with the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, considering his outstanding performances in the T20I series against Sri Lanka before the IPL.

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"I am sure he is going to be part of the team in the coming times" - Aakash Chopra on Rahul Tripathi

Rahul Tripathi scored his runs at a strike rate of 158.23 in IPL 2022

Chopra, however, added that Tripathi might not have to wait long for an India cap. He observed:

"We all had in our minds that he (Tripathi) should be played, he should be part of the team, he is a gun player. I am sure he is going to be part of the team in the coming times but at this point in time, he is not in the team."

The reputed commentator concluded by pointing out that Tripathi and Sanju Samson are likely to be a part of the Indian team for the T20I series against Ireland. Chopra reasoned:

"They (selectors) could have done one more thing, they could have announced the Ireland team also now itself because there are two T20Is there also. You have to give an opportunity to Rahul Tripathi and Sanju Samson there because KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are part of the Test team and they will go to England and you are going to give a chance to these kids in Ireland."

Team India will play a couple of T20Is against Ireland on June 26 and 28. The likes of Tripathi and Samson should figure in that squad, with the Test regulars not available due to the final game against England.