Aakash Chopra picks India's probable squad for Sri Lanka tour, names Shikhar Dhawan the captain
Aakash Chopra has picked his preferred 17-member Indian squad for the Sri Lanka tour and has named Shikhar Dhawan as the team's captain.
Team India will be embarking on a six-match limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka in July. With most of the regular team members set to be away in England at the time, the squad will comprise of white-ball specialists and youngsters who will be trying to make an impression on the international stage.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw as the openers in his squad while also naming the former as the skipper.
"Shikhar Dhawan the captain because we have seen in the last two years that he is upgrading his software and batting with great responsibility. Along with him, I am picking Prithvi Shaw. The form we have seen from him, I feel he should be the front-runner in this race," said Chopra.
The former India player chose Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan as his preferred middle-order batsmen.
"After that Shreyas Iyer if he is available. There is a talk of him playing county cricket but it would be better if you keep him for the six encounters here. Then Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, although Mumbai Indians dropped him halfway through," added Aakash Chopra.
Aakash Chopra picked the Pandya brothers to bat in the lower-middle order and named Hardik as the vice-captain of his chosen team.
"Hardik Pandya will be my vice-captain. And then Krunal Pandya. He played the last ODI series against England and performed well also," stated Chopra.
It will be interesting to see if Hardik Pandya will be able to roll his arm over in the Sri Lanka series or if he will play only as a specialist batsman.
Aakash Chopra's selection of bowlers and backup players
Aakash Chopra chose Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as three of the frontline bowlers in his first XI.
"After that Yuzi Chahal. Deepak Chahar whose performances have been outstanding with the white-ball. He should be given a chance in ODIs as well. If Bhuvi and he bowl together, our powerplay problem of not taking wickets can also be sorted out," said Chopra.
The commentator feels Navdeep Saini should be included in the squad despite being out of favor lately.
"After that Navdeep Saini, he has also been kept in cold storage. Neither India is playing him nor RCB. But I will keep him in my team because he was part of the team when India went to Australia and played a Test match also," observed Aakash Chopra.
Aakash Chopra named T Natarajan, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy and Prasidh Krishna as the other bowlers in his squad, although the Karnataka pacer might not be available as he is named in the standbys for the England tour.
"There is a question mark about T Natarajan's injury. But if he is fit, he will go of course. Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy are the two extra spinners I have kept. I have also given place to Prasidh Krishna in my team," added Chopra.
The 43-year-old signed off by picking Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda as the reserve batsmen for the tour.
"Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda, I will keep both these players. Sanju Samson has been playing good cricket, scored a century this year as well. Deepak Hooda has shown that he can be an explosive batsman at No.6 or No.7 and he can bowl a bit of off-spin," concluded Chopra.
Aakash Chopra named Devdutt Padikkal/Ruturaj Gaikwad, Khaleel Ahmed/Jaydev Unadkat and Kuldeep Yadav as reserves for Shreyas Iyer, T Natarajan and Varun Chakravarthy respectively, if any of them is unavailable.
Aakash Chopra's Indian squad for the Sri Lanka tour: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Prasidh Krishna.