In the absence of India’s regular skipper Rohit Sharma, veteran Shikhar Dhawan will captain the Men in Blue. Rohit was also unavailable in the preceding T20Is alongwith KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.
Since the star players are not playing the ODIs either, this will give a golden opportunity to youngsters and those players who are always on the radar but can not break into the playing XI due to already occupied positions.
Ahead of the ODI series opener, former India cricketer and seasoned broadcaster Aakash Chopra has picked his probable XI of Team India. Chopra went with Dhawan and Shubman Gill to open the innings, followed by Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson to complete the top 6 batters.
“Let us try to pick the XI. Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill – the two openers. Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav – that makes it your four batters. Rishabh Pant probably at No. 5 and Sanju Samson at No. 6,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked three all-rounders and two specialist bowlers to finish his bowling attack. Chopra named Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur as all-rounders, while Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh as dedicated bowlers.
“You might have to play Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Deepak Chahar, so you have three bowlers who are all all-rounders. Then Yuzi [Yuzvendra] Chahal and Arshdeep Singh. That’s the kind of team that you can actually field,” added Chopra.
Aakash Chopra’s probable India XI:
Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.
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