A lot was expected from Rohit Sharma and Co. when India entered the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup as defending champions. India had lifted the famous trophy when the continental tournament was last played in 2018. However, the record-time winners suffered a premature exit in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup. Rohit-led Team India was knocked out of the Asia Cup after losing their Super 4 games to former champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Under the leadership of Rohit, the most successful team in the history of the Asia Cup recorded only two wins in the ongoing continental cup. After defeating the defending champions in the Super 4 phase stage, strong title contenders Pakistan and Sri Lanka are scheduled to lock horns in the Asia Cup 2022 final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Talking about India’s forgetful run in the Asia Cup 2022, former Indian cricketer Rudra Pratap Singh has claimed that Rohit and Co. will not enter the T20 World Cup as favourites to clinch the trophy. “After their performance in the Asia Cup, India won’t go to the T20 World Cup as favourites. If you really want to earn that trophy, you need to do minimal changes in the squad and back the 11-12 players in the upcoming games against Australia and South Africa. If you continue to shuffle, it will only cause more confusion,” Singh told India TV Cricket on Saturday.
The former Indian pacer also picked India’s squad for the ICC T20 World Cup. Singh said that he would pick out-of-favour pacer Mohammed Shami and spinner Kuldeep Yadav in his squad for the showpiece event. Singh feels that opener KL Rahul might not retain his place in the Indian playing XI at the T20 World Cup.
“I will pick Shami because the pace and bounce will help him bowl back of a length which is his strength. I have also added Kuldeep Yadav because even he can exploit the bounce factor in Australia. KL Rahul might not be in the XI but will definitely be a part of the squad,” he added.
India’s squad picked by RP Singh for T20 World Cup 2022:
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul, Deepak Chahar.
Reserves: Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson, Ravichandran Ashwin.
