T20 World Cup 2021: Aakash Chopra names his predicted playing XI for India-Pakistan clash

India and Pakistan are all set to lock horns with each other for their opening fixtures of the T20 World Cup. Ahead of the high-profile match, former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has predicted his playing XIs for the match. There have been a lot of discussions on Hardik Pandya’s availability with the ball. Chopra, however, feels that team India has made it clear through the practice games that irrespective of his contributions with the ball Pandya will make it to the cut.

The former cricketer went with Varun Chakravarthy as one of the spinners of the side. The mystery spinner has been in impressive form in the recently concluded IPL. Chopra thus stated that if Chakravarthy isn’t completely fit, he will go with Rahul Chahar ahead of Ravi Ashwin.

Opening up on the fast bowling bunch, he pointed Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami as the sure picks. In the tussle between Bhuvneshwar and Thakur, Chopra feels that in terms of experience one would opt for the former but considering the current form he picked Shardul Thakur who finished as the highest wicket-taker of CSK in IPL 2021.

The team has made it very clear that Hardik is very important: Aakash Chopra

“The team has made it very clear that Hardik is a very important member and they’ll go with him even if he’s not bowling. It’s a big call but this is what it is because you can’t produce another all-rounder overnight. And let’s be honest, Shardul Thakur will not replace him.

“Shami and Bumrah is a foregone conclusion. Another big question will be Shardul versus Bhuvi. If you go by pedigree and the ability to absorb pressure, you’ll go with Bhuvi but he isn’t in form. And Shardul has the wicket-taking ability and the wicket-taking luck, he’s the ‘Lord’ so it’s possible. I am picking the ‘Lord,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

He also put forward his opinions on India’s batting order. According to him, the team might play Rishabh Pant at number four in order to get him early on the crease. He also suggested the team to hand over Jadeja with the finishing duties owing to his splendid form.

As for Pakistan, they have already announced their 12-man squad and Aakash Chopra went with Asif Ali ahead of Haider Ali in their XI.

Aakash Chopra’s Playing 11 for India:

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy

Aakash Chopra’s Playing 11 for Pakistan:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.