'Who will fill the big vacant places?' - Aakash Chopra predicts India's playing XI for Leeds Test

As India prepares to begin their new World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 campaign with a five-match series against England, former cricketer Aakash Chopra has predicted his playing XI for the opening Test at Headingley, Leeds, starting Friday, June 20. With stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin exiting from red-ball cricket, Chopra believes the Indian team has major decisions to make, especially in the batting department.

With Shubman Gill taking over the captaincy and no Rohit or Kohli at the helm, the team is currently in a transitional phase. While the English conditions have traditionally challenged Indian batters, the current line-up is relatively inexperienced on such tours. Chopra, speaking on his YouTube channel, pointed out the dual vacancies created by the retirements. However, he believes the opening combination should remain a straightforward decision.

"Who will fill the big vacant places? The top order is going to be really, really new for Team India. It's simple, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the two openers. There shouldn't be any debate there, although there will be slight pressure on Yashasvi as he hasn't scored runs thus far," he said.

I feel it will take a little time to settle: Chopra

With the opening sorted, the biggest debate is set to be in the middle order. Chopra mentioned a few options before eventually finalising on a specific XI. He confirmed that if Gill and Rishabh Pant bat at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, as Pant confirmed in the pre-match press conference, then the remaining slots must be planned around the two. 

"It could be Shubman Gill at No. 3 and Karun Nair at No. 4, or vice versa, or else Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, Shubman at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, and Karun Nair at No. 6. That is also a possibility. I feel it will take a little time to settle. However, one thing is important. When you do something in the first match, you have to do it slightly from the point of view of continuity. If you make changes frequently, it will seem like your confidence is less. I am hoping that they think it through. Whatever is your top six, stick with it for a bit longer," he added.

The former Indian opener backed Shardul Thakur in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy, considering the experience and the current form the Mumbai all-rounder is carrying with him.

"I will stick with the playing XI I had spoken about earlier. KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, I am still thinking Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4, Rishabh Pant at No. 5, Karun Nair at No. 6, Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, Shardul Thakur at No. 8, Jasprit Bumrah at No. 9, and then Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. If you wish to play Nitish Kumar Reddy, you will have to think about playing either Karun Nair or Shubman Gill at No. 3, and then you will have to rejig everything. If you wish to play Nitish Kumar Reddy below No. 6, don't play him. Play Shardul Thakur," he concluded.