Aakash Chopra picks his best XI of the 2024 T20 World Cup, no place for Virat Kohli and Axar Patel

Aakash Chopra has picked his best XI of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli and Axar Patel, who stitched together a crucial partnership for India in the final, failed to get a place in his chosen side.

India beat South Africa by seven runs in the final in Barbados on Saturday, June 29, to bag their second T20 World Cup trophy. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz (281) was the top run-scorer in the tournament, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh, with 17 scalps apiece, were the joint-highest wicket-takers.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Indian skipper Rohit Sharma as his first opener and captain.

"I am starting with Rohit Sharma as an opener and captain. If you leave aside the final, his batting was incredible, and his captaincy was top-class. There is no better captain than him in the entire world at the moment," he said (1:00).

The former India batter picked Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz ahead of Kohli as Rohit's opening partner.

"I have got Rahmanullah Gurbaz to open with him. Virat Kohli couldn't get a place because he scored runs in only one match. Rahmanullah Gurbaz is also my wicketkeeper. This team reached the semi-finals because of his partnerships with Ibrahim Zadran," Chopra reasoned.

Chopra chose West Indies' Nicholas Pooran ahead of India's Rishabh Pant as his No. 3 batter.

"I have kept Nicholas Pooran at No. 3. I was thinking about Rishabh Pant. He scored runs at the start but after that, he suddenly went cold. I have kept Nicholas Pooran because when he played, he hit a lot. I know the team didn't reach the semi-finals," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator picked India's Suryakumar Yadav for the No. 4 position.

"It was again a contentious decision about who to keep at No. 4. I have gone towards Suryakumar Yadav. You might say why. I will say because he scored runs in the semi-final, made a little contribution in the match before that, took an incredible catch in the final, and scored two successive fifties earlier," Chopra elaborated.

South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen pipped his teammate David Miller to the final specialist batter's spot.

"I was slightly split at No. 5. Should we keep Miller or Klaasen? I am going with Klaasen. He is my personal favorite. He scored a fifty in the final as well and if he had played 10 deliveries more, South Africa would have 100% won their first World Cup," Chopra explained.

Klaasen smashed 52 runs off 27 deliveries in the 2024 T20 World Cup final. He was dismissed when the Proteas needed 26 runs off 24 balls, with the remaining batters unable to take their team over the line.

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"I have kept Hardik Pandya and he should be kept" - Aakash Chopra on the batting all-rounder in his best XI

Hardik Pandya dismissed Heinrich Klaasen and bowled the match-winning last over in the final.

Aakash Chopra picked India's Hardik Pandya as the batting all-rounder in his team of the tournament.

"I have kept Hardik Pandya and he should be kept. He has been the best all-rounder in the World Cup. No all-rounder came close to him. He made important contributions with both bat and ball and consistently. He does all the ending jobs, which are the most difficult in T20s," he said (5:10).

The former India opener chose Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and Bangladesh's Rishad Hossain as his two spinners.

"After that, I have kept Rashid Khan and he is also my vice-captain. He took his team to the semi-final. He picked up four wickets in the most difficult game against Bangladesh and scored 18-19 runs as well. Rashid is karamati Khan," Chopra stated.

"Then I have kept an interesting choice. I have kept Rishad Hossain, the leg-spinner from Bangladesh. He bowled extremely well, picked up wickets, and kept his team in the game. The team didn't reach the semi-finals but it wasn't his mistake," he added.

Chopra picked India's Jasprit Bumrah as his first specialist seamer.

"After that, Boom Boom - no question, a no-brainer. Forget this World Cup, he is the world's best bowler at this moment across all formats. He is one of the greatest of all time in white-ball cricket. Very few can raise their game consistently in clutch situations. He has done it time and again," he reasoned.

The 46-year-old chose Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi and India's Arshdeep Singh ahead of Australia's Pat Cummins and South Africa's Anrich Nortje as the other two pacers.

"Then I have kept Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh. I thought about Pat Cummins, two hat-tricks, and Anrich Nortje, but Fazalhaq Farooqi has been absolutely outstanding. Arshdeep Singh doesn't get that much credit. He is expensive at times but he was exceptional in the final," Chopra explained.

Chopra named Nortje, India's Kuldeep Yadav and the Australian duo of Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis as the reserves in his 15-member squad.

Aakash Chopra's best XI of the 2024 T20 World Cup: Rohit Sharma (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav, Heinrich Klaasen, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Rishad Hossain, Jasprit Bumrah, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Arshdeep Singh