On Monday, South Africa was dealt a massive blow as they were forced to share points with Zimbabwe. It was a rain-affected game and hence, although the Proteas were close to winning the match, that could not happen. Now, they have a stiff task to reach the next stage. On that note, here, we take a look at the alteration suggested by Aakash Chopra in the T20 World Cup format.
Aakash Chopra wants a change in the T20 World Cup
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has always been an advocate for the ‘bonus point’ rule in the T20 World Cup. If teams do well in a particular game and pass the criteria for the bonus point, it will help them go up in the table. Most importantly, the teams affected by rain will then have a chance to make up for the misfortune due to the weather. Here is what Aakash said:
We must have a Bonus Point in the #T20WorldCup
No team can afford a rained out game…Bonus point, at least, allows you a serious chance of making up for a lost point.— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 24, 2022
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T20 is a fickle format and at times, the best might need more than a chance to assert themselves. The Bonus Point allows that convincingly. It needs to be seen if ICC would make any change in this regard for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
South Africa might now struggle to enter the semi-finals
If the game was reduced to a five-over fixture, South Africa would have already won the game. This is because they reached the DLS requirement for five overs within three overs itself. However, to their bad luck, the rain had a say in the proceedings.
South Africa will now need to win all their remaining games. They will have to particularly do well against Pakistan. If they can somehow win that fixture and gain victories over the other lesser-established cricket nations, they could play in the semi-finals. At the moment, though, the Proteas will focus on taking game by game and not think about factors outside their control.
