"Not everyone gets justice" - Aakash Chopra on Team India star's omission from 2026 T20 World Cup squad

Former India player Aakash Chopra has opined that Jitesh Sharma might feel betrayed after being omitted from the Men in Blue's 2026 T20 World Cup squad. However, he noted that not everyone gets a fair deal.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will be played in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. The selectors picked a 15-member Indian squad for the global event on Saturday, December 20, with Jitesh making way for Ishan Kishan as the second wicketkeeper-batter.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener highlighted that Jitesh might feel that he has been treated unfairly, as he has been dropped for no fault of his.

"Jitesh Sharma is asking, 'What did I do? Mere ko kyu toda?' Jitesh has every right to feel betrayed. He did well in whatever chances you gave him. You picked him just three months before the World Cup, and there too, you didn't play him all the matches, and he did his job when you played him," Chopra said. "Now you have suddenly dropped him from the team. It's not right at all if we look at it from his perspective. It's not justified. Not everyone gets justice. Life is not fair all the time," he added.

Jitesh Sharma has aggregated 162 runs at a strike rate of 151.40 in 12 T20I innings. He scored 62 runs at a strike rate of 158.97 in five T20I innings in 2025.

---

"He has also brought a question with him" - Aakash Chopra on Rinku Singh's selection in India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad

Rinku Singh wasn't part of India's squad in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that Rinku Singh, who has been picked in India's 2026 T20 World Cup squad, might be wondering about the lost game time ahead of the global event.

"Rinku Singh has returned and he has also brought a question with him - 'Why did you leave me in the cold earlier as I had not done anything wrong?' Rinku might be thinking that he could have been allowed to play in the last three months. If he was in the scheme of things, he could have played when Hardik Pandya wasn't available. Then he would have come with form," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Ishan Kishan's impressive performances in the recently concluded 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and India's need to have an opening wicketkeeper as backup for Sanju Samson helped the Jharkhand skipper get a spot in the 2026 T20 World Cup squad.

"Ishan Kishan played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scored runs, and made the team win. The Indian team thought they were making a mistake as one keeper was an opener and the other was a middle-order batter. So things are not working out well and a like-for-like replacement will be required. So to correct that wrong, they have kept Ishan Kishan," Chopra observed.

Ishan Kishan has scored 796 runs at a strike rate of 124.37 in 32 T20I innings. He smashed a 49-ball 101 in Jharkhand's 69-run win in the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against Haryana in Pune on December 18.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Kartik Iyer