Aakash Chopra picks playing XI for IND vs NZ Kanpur Test
Ajinkya Rahane ( Image Credit: Twitter)
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has picked his predicted India XI for the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul won’t be available for the match. While Rohit is rested for the series, Kohli will join the team for the second Test. KL Rahul picked up an injury ahead of the match and was ruled out of the series. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav has been drafted into the squad.
Chopra backed Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill to open for India. It’s obvious that India will open will with the duo with no KL Rahul in the team. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer will be the next three batters. Wriddiman Saha will don the keeping gloves in the game, while Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel will be the spinners. In the pace bowling department, Chopra went in with Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav.
“Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Pujara at three, Rahane at four, Iyer at five. These will be your five batsmen. After that, play Jadeja at six. Jadeja can bat at six. Whichever keeper plays, it should be Saha in my opinion, keep him at seven,” he stated.
“At eight, you keep Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar at nine. Axar can also bat. So, you have a lot of batting. I think don’t compromise on the fact that you will need five full bowlers,” Chopra said.
“My two fast bowlers will be Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj because they will get the ball to reverse swing better than Ishant Sharma,” Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra’s XI
Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
