IND vs WI 2022: "That is the biggest problem" - Aakash Chopra picks India's probable XI for 1st T20I
Aakash Chopra has picked India's probable XI for the first T20I against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Friday, July 29.
Team India will have their regular skipper Rohit Sharma back at the helm after being rested for the preceding ODI series. They will, however, miss the services of KL Rahul, who was originally named in the squad but will not be available as he is still recovering from COVID-19.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Rohit, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer as India's likely top three, saying:
"What is the XI you will play? That is the biggest problem, win or loss is on one side, picking the XI is on the other side. The XI I am picking is Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer at No. 3."
While observing that the Indian team management is likely to prefer Shreyas over Deepak Hooda, Chopra named Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik to complete his top six. The former Indian opener elaborated:
"I feel Shreyas Iyer will get an opportunity to play at No. 3 because he is ahead in the pecking order although I feel Hooda should play but who am I. SKY at No. 4 and Hardik Pandya at No. 5, and after that Dinesh Karthik, that makes it your top six."
Hooda gave an excellent account of himself in the three T20Is he played against Ireland and England. It will be interesting to see if Shreyas is preferred ahead of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) all-rounder based on his impressive performances in the preceding ODI series against the same opponents.
"I personally want Kuldeep Yadav to play" - Aakash Chopra
While hoping Ravindra Jadeja is fit to take the field, Chopra wants Kuldeep Yadav to play ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin. He observed:
"I feel Jaddu will be fit now. It came out in the last match that he is still not available. I am expecting him to be fit, if he is not then Axar Patel, he is the obvious choice. I personally want Kuldeep Yadav to play, I am not playing Ravichandran Ashwin in my team."
The reputed commentator concluded by casting his vote for Arshdeep Singh ahead of Avesh Khan. He reasoned:
"After that, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel and Arshdeep Singh. I am not playing Avesh, I am playing Arsh. I want to see Arsh because if you have set your sights on the T20 World Cup, then this is the time, play him right away is what I will say."
#WIvIND
My India top 3 for tomorrow. MS there for good luck 🤞🏽😄 #WIvIND https://t.co/sVneOn7BpM
Aakash Chopra's probable Indian XI for the 1st T20I: Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Also Read: IND vs WI 2022: "Rohit and SKY will together score more than 75 runs" - Aakash Chopra makes his predictions for the 1st T20I