Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has rated India’s top three batters – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli – as the best in the world.
All of these three batters are in decent form in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup and they are going to hold the key for the Indian team.
Rohit scored a fine knock of 60 runs off just 41 balls in the second warm-up match against Australia, which India won comprehensively by nine wickets. KL Rahul continued his good form as he scored 39 runs off just 31 balls against the Aussies.
Rahul had also scored a fine knock of 51 runs off just 24 balls against England in the first warm-up match. Furthermore, the flamboyant batter had scored 626 runs in 13 matches while leading Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 at an average of 62.6 and a strike rate of 138.
Virat Kohli is one of the best batters in the world and he is known to deliver at the big stage. Kohli scored 405 runs in 15 matches while leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021. It will be imperative for India that these three batters deliver the goods for them in the T20 World Cup and give their side the right platform throughout the tournament.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Our top-three is the best in the world boss. And I am not saying this because I am an Indian. If you bring out the T20 batting stats since 2016, of course, Babar Azam has No.1 because he has made 2204 runs… but Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli – all three have made over 1500 runs. And the big thing is these three premier players don’t play a lot of matches in one go. They don’t play all the T20Is and the Indian team picks and chooses the matches for them. But still, they have 1500 means which means that our team is absolutely robust. They are the best in the world and we are not the only ones saying this.”
Meanwhile, India has a win percentage of 70.5, which is the best for any team which has played a minimum of 50 matches. India has been the most consistent team and they have a good chance to go all the way in the T20 World Cup.
“How has been India’s performance in international cricket since the 2016 T20 World Cup? This is very important… We have played 88 matches which are the most among the top teams. The next best is Pakistan at 82. And only one team has a better win percentage than us which is Afghanistan who also play with a lot of associates. India plays mostly the big games where we have won 60 from 88… Our win percentage is 70.5 which is the best among the teams who have played more than 50 matches. This is phenomenal.”
Moreover, India has won eight out of the last nine T20I series they have played and they have been coming up with their collective efforts.
“Let’s also see our performance since the 2019 World Cup where we lost in the semi-final and started our preparation for the T20 World Cup. We have played nine series and lost just once and that too when we sent our ‘B’ team or the ‘kids’ to Sri Lanka… This effort should be applauded. And if wins in the bilateral series mean anything, this is the team to beat.”
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on Sunday in Dubai.
