On Umran Malik Getting Picked For T20 World Cup 2024, Ex-India Star’s ‘Missing’ Verdict | Cricket News

Former Indian cricket team opener Aakash Chopra believes that fast bowler Umran Malik should be considered for the T20 World Cup 2024 squad after he was not considered for the upcoming South Africa tour. Chopra pointed out that Umran was given some chances in the past and it will be surprising if he is not considered even once in the future. India will face South Africa in three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches. Umran will be representing Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and it can be a great platform for him to prove his mettle against quality batters.

“I feel he should be considered. You had kept him in the team until some time back. You had played him, it was either against the West Indies or Ireland. After that, he has been missing. You keep someone with so much love at one point and then suddenly missing, that’s not good,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“Keep him in the scheme of things at least. In fact, he is not even being picked in the India A team. How can it happen that he was in the Indian team three months ago and now he is not even part of the India A team?,” he added.

Earlier, Chopra said that Rishabh Pant can end up replacing Rohit Sharma as the Test captain in the near future. Chopra went on to call Pant a ’24-carat gold’ Test cricketer and said that a ‘gamechanger’ like the wicket-keeper batter can be perfect as a long-term replacement of Rohit.

Chopra also named Shubman Gill as a possible alternative along with Pant and although not much is known about his captaincy skills, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season will see the opener lead Gujarat Titans after the departure of Hardik Pandya. On the other hand, Pant is expected to make his long-awaited return from injury and he will also be leading the Delhi Capitals franchise.

“I am talking about extremely long-term, it could be Shubman Gill. I am not talking about now, I am talking about the distant future. It could be Rishabh Pant. Rishabh Pant as a Test cricketer is 24-carat gold,” Aakash Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.

“So he could also be the one. He is a game-changer. So I will look towards one of these two once Rohit says he is done with Test cricket and that you can appoint someone else as the skipper,” he added.