IND Vs AUS: Aakash Chopra Snubs Suryakumar Yadav In Playing XI For World Cup Match Against Australia!

Aakash Chopra has offered his insight into India’s playing XI for their opening ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 encounter against Australia in Chennai, leaning towards Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion over Suryakumar Yadav. He also predicted that India would opt for three spinners, potentially leaving out all-rounder Shardul Thakur.

Leading up to the World Cup, India and Australia engaged in a three-match ODI series in India. During this series, with Virat Kohli resting for the first two games, both Shreyas and Suryakumar featured in the playing XI. Shreyas made a significant impact by scoring a century in the second ODI, while Suryakumar registered half-centuries in the first two matches.

For the third ODI in Rajkot, with several key players unavailable, both Shreyas and Suryakumar were again part of the playing XI. Shreyas contributed 48 runs, while Suryakumar managed only 8 as India lost by 66 runs.

Although some experts believe Suryakumar’s X-factor should secure him a place in the playing XI against Australia, Chopra favored Shreyas for the No. 4 position, stating, “Shreyas Iyer will play at No. 4; there will be no place for Suryakumar Yadav,” as expressed on his YouTube channel.

Shreyas boasts an impressive record in ODIs, with 1801 runs in 47 matches at an average of 46.17. In contrast, Suryakumar has accumulated 667 runs from 30 games at an average of 27.79.

Aakash Chopra Believes India Will Go With Three Spinners

While Chopra advocated for three spinners in India’s playing XI, he expressed concerns about the batting form of the all-rounders. He highlighted that Hardik Pandya has not had much match practice in the past month and suggested that Ravichandran Ashwin cannot be considered a genuine all-rounder in ODIs.

“Hardik Pandya has not played cricket for a month, so we can only hope he does well. Otherwise, there can be an issue. Apart from Pandya, there is Jadeja. Ravichandran Ashwin, I do not rate him as an excellent all-rounder in one-dayers. He is a bowler, who can bat a bit. Numbers six, seven and eight could be a potential batting problem,” Chopra opined.

Additionally, Aakash Chopra noted that if the pitch in Chennai does not provide sufficient turns, India may encounter difficulties in picking up wickets during the middle overs. He also talked about the retro vibes that this team gives with Jadeja and Ashwin playing together.

“There is a retro feel to the team – Ravindra Jadeja from one end, Ravichandran Ashwin from the other. Memories of 2017 are fresh again. Hopefully, the pitch offers turn, otherwise, it will be difficult to take wickets in the middle overs for the finger spinners,” Aakash Chopra concluded.

India will look to have an auspicious start to this World Cup and what better than beating the five-time World champions in the opening game? However, Shubman Gill will reportedly miss the game as he is suffering from dengue. We can see the Mumbai Indians opening pair of Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma open the innings for India.

Aakash Chopra’s predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.