Aakash Chopra's Concerns Over India's Tough Group In Champions Trophy
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra gets a horrible feeling on India facing Pakistan and New Zealand in the upcoming Champions Trophy which will be held in Dubai. He remembered the T20I match of 2021 where the Indian team faced both teams in a same place. India is placed in Group A with Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. The Men in Blue will be starting their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 and on February 22 they will be facing the Kiwis.
India suffered heartbreaking defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two group games of the 2021 T20 World Cup games in Dubai. They were eliminated from the tournament before the knockout matches.
In a video shared on his YouTube Channel, the former player stated that he gets a very horrible feeling as Pakistan and New Zealand are in the same group as them. The thing which happened last time in an ICC tournament has broken every Indian heart.
"You get a horrible feeling - Pakistan and New Zealand in our group with the matches in Dubai because the chances of it happening in Dubai are the brightest. It wasn't good the last time this happened in an ICC tournament. We were heartbroken."
Further, Chopra showed confidence in Men in Blue, stating that they would qualify for the semi-finals from their group. He believes that now the players have understood the ODI format, Virat and Rohit will be seen playing there and Jasprit Bumrah too.
"However that was T20. This is ODI. If ODI matches are played in the UAE, we will grab them. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will both be seen playing there, Jasprit Bumrah will be there and we have understood the ODI template very well. So we should ideally qualify from our group."