Aakash Chopra picked a 16-man squad from the gamers who weren’t chosen in India’s aspect for the 2025 Asia Cup on Tuesday, August 19.
A variety of consultants have criticised the BCCI selectors for leaving out gamers like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer. Chopra saved the previous as one in every of his openers, saying that he was part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad final 12 months and will have retained his spot on the grounds of continuity. The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Ruturaj Gaikwad to open alongside Jaiswal, mentioning his previous achievements, together with scoring a century towards Australia.
“Let’s begin with Yashasvi Jaiswal. I really feel his identify ought to have been there within the Asia Cup squad as nicely as a result of he was a part of the T20 World Cup squad. If he was there, why not right here, as continuity is spoken about?” Chopra mentioned in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
“Together with him, I’ve saved Ruturaj Gaikwad. He has been the Indian workforce’s vice-captain and scored a century towards Australia in Guwahati. He bought injured within the IPL, however he’s additionally a constant performer. He’s additionally somebody who has utterly disappeared from the scene,” he added.
Chopra named KL Rahul as his No. 3 batter. The 47-year-old talked about how Rahul can bat in numerous positions and preserve wickets if required.
“At No. 3, I’ve considered protecting KL Rahul. He can open and bat down the order, however No. 3 is just not a foul quantity. For those who ask him to play quick, he’ll try this. If wickets are falling from one finish, and he’s requested to handle, he can try this. He additionally does wicketkeeping, however we aren’t getting him to try this,” he elaborated.
Chopra named Shreyas because the captain of the squad and Rishabh Pant because the wicketkeeper. They may bat at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. In the meantime, Nitish Kumar Reddy will bat at No. 6, as Chopra backed him to carry out Hardik Pandya’s function.
“I’ve saved Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 in my workforce and as a captain. At No. 5, I’ve bought Rishabh Pant as a wicketkeeper-batter in my workforce. At No. 6, I’ve saved Nitish Kumar Reddy as a result of he does the job Hardik Pandya does,” Chopra noticed.
The type of IPL Krunal Pandya had, I feel his identify ought to be saved: Aakash Chopra
Chopra went on to call Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar as the 2 seam-bowling all-rounders in his squad. Whereas he backed Sundar to contribute with each bat and ball, he talked about Pandya’s distinctive efficiency in IPL 2025, the place he performed a vital function in serving to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) seal victory.
So far as specialist bowlers are involved, Chopra named Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj in his lineup.
“At No. 7 and No. 8, I’m protecting Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar. Washi Sundar will give me overs, and he brings depth in my batting. The type of IPL Krunal Pandya had, I feel his identify ought to be saved. I’ll preserve Ravi Bishnoi at No. 9, though Yuzvendra Chahal’s identify may have additionally been there. At Nos. 10 and 11, I’ve saved Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj,” Chopra noticed.
Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Khaleel Ahmed have been the 5 different gamers picked to finish Chopra’s squad.
Aakash Chopra’s unselected India XI for 2025 Asia Cup: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (C), Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.
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