With two weeks remaining for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, ex-India opener Aakash Chopra has offered a few suggestions to the Indian team management.

In the lead-up to the marquee event, the Men in Blue will play three ODIs against England, starting on February 6 in Nagpur.

Chopra has advocated for KL Rahul’s inclusion as the wicketkeeper-batter in the playing XI against England. The team management faces a tricky task of picking one between consistent Rahul or Rishabh Pant, who will help fit a left-handed option in the batting line-up.

Chopra said Pant will make his case in the XI if India will be desperate to accommodate a southpaw in the top six.

"There are two schools of thought. One is that you have all right-handers, Shubman Gill is there with Rohit Sharma, then Virat Kohli, Rahul and Hardik Pandya. So don't you want a left-hander there? People who come with that thinking are saying Rishabh Pant should be played," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

The former cricketer-turned-commentator spoke in detail about Rahul and elaborated on how he had excelled in every role the team management asked him to do.

"What goes in KL Rahul's favour is what wrong has he done. Just because his name is Rahul, will you keep drumming him? Will you keep getting him to do all the jobs, whether it's keeping, going down or up the order, and serving the drinks? No, that's not going to happen," he added.

KL Rahul performed exceptionally well in the World Cup 2023 as well, but his slow half-century in the final came under scrutiny. However, Chopra reckons that if he hadn't adopted that approach, India might have got all out cheaply.

"He played well in the World Cup. I still remember the Australia match at Chepauk. India were reduced 25/3, something like that, and he performed like a Player of the Match. Then he continuously scored alright. He was criticized a lot for batting a little slow in the final, but we might not have reached where we reached if he had gotten out instead of batting slow," Chopra explained.

Aakash Chopra made his point very clear and picked Rahul as the first-choice wicketkeeper in his playing XI against England.

"I am going with KL Rahul. I am going with continuity. Why would you drop someone who hasn't done anything wrong just because someone else does well? Rishabh Pant's ODI record is a work in progress and KL Rahul hasn't done anything wrong. So Rahul should be the frontrunner," he remarked.