Aakash Chopra Picks His Best Current ODI XI; Names Eoin Morgan As Captain

Former Indian opening batsman Aakash Chopra has named his best ODI XI from the current bunch in his latest youtube video. Aakash Chopra picked English limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan to lead while choosing four Indians, two Englishmen, one Australian, two Kiwis, one Bangladeshi, one West Indian. There were no places for any South African or Sri Lankan while a Pakistani made it as the 12th man.

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Aakash Chopra began by picking Rohit Sharma and Shai Hope to open the innings. He also chose Shai Hope to keep wickets. The West Indian keeper-batsman had a prolific 2019 in ODIs, having averaged 61.14 in 28 ODIs. The cricketer-turned-commentator considered Aaron Finch initially but needed a gloveman so picked Hope.

There was no surprise at number three as Aakash went ahead with Indian captain Virat Kohli with the veteran Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor to follow him next. While choosing Taylor, he commented, “We, in sub-continent, don’t realize this, but Taylor has scored a lot of runs for the past two years.”

Aakash Chopra underlines the reason for choosing Morgan as captain:

At number five, World Cup-winning skipper Eoin Morgan followed, who Aakash picked to lead ahead of Kohli. The 42-year old addressed his choice by saying that he has instilled a fearless culture amongst the Englishmen. “He has instilled a different brand of cricket in England. That is why I have made him the captain. I want him to make this side play a different brand of cricket.”

The all-rounder department will comprise of Shakib Al-Hasan and Ben Stokes admitting that while the duo has been prolific with the bat, their performance with the ball has been lean. “Their bowling numbers haven’t been satisfactory, which is why I feel they can support each other by delivering ten overs for me.”

The pace bowling department consisted of Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Mitchell Starc while Kuldeep Yadav occupied the spot of a lone spinner. Aakash Chopra highlighted Starc’s selection by saying he must be considered having ended as the top wicket-taker in the last two World Cups.

He went on to say that Ferguson’s numbers are superior to that of Trent Boult, which was the reason to go ahead with the right-arm speedster. Pakistan’s newly-appointed ODI skipper Babar Azam occupied the position of the 12th man.

Aakash Chopra’s current ODI XI: Rohit Sharma, Shai Hope (WK), Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Eoin Morgan (Capt.), Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Babar Azam (12th man)

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