Aakash Chopra, former India opener, has picked the best cricketer for Team India in the T20Is, Tests, and overall before naming the best debutant for the year 2021.
Aakash picked Rohit Sharma as the best cricketer for 2021 after having picked him as the best batter in Tests and T20Is for this calendar year and named Akshar Patel as the best debutant.
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant were the two contenders for the batting spot in Test cricket. However, Rohit came out the winner, scoring 906 runs in 21 innings at 48.19 with two centuries and four fifties. He had started opening for India in 2019 in Tests, proving to be a turning point for the Mumbai-based batter.
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"From an Indian standpoint, we have Rishabh Pant. He was the one who helped India conquer Gabba and he even scored in Sydney. But my Test batter of the year is Rohit Sharma. And when Test cricket's history will be written, and 2021 will be remembered as the pivotal year for Rohit Sharma as a Test cricketer. The year showed that he has finally fallen in love with the format. He has learned how to defend the ball, and leave the ball.
He scored runs in difficult English conditions. The Chennai knock in the second innings - he was on one side and the rest of the players were on the different side altogether - that was the quality of his batting. We still have one more Test match to go, but without a doubt, he has to be my Test batter of the year," Chopra said speaking on his YouTube channel.
For the best bowler in Test cricket for India in 2021, Aakash Chopra picked R Ashwin for his 52 wickets (most in 2021) at just 16.2 and also became India's third-highest wicket-taker surpassing Harbhajan Singh.
"We had Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah is also there. But my Test bowler of the year will be Ravichandran Ashwin. He did not play at the Gabba and missed the England tour, hence missing five Tests in 2021. He also scored runs as a batsman, notched up a century as well. But here I'm talking about Ashwin the bowler, who has picked 52 wickets in 8 Tests. Had he played those five Tests, he would have taken 70 wickets. He has been sensational and he will eventually surpass Kapil Dev's tally as well," he said.
Furthermore, Aakash Chopra named Rohit Sharma as the best batter and Jasprit Bumrah as the best bowler in T20I format for India. Rohit Sharma was also named the best cricketer in 2021.
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He said: "KL Rahul? But he didn't score that many runs. Neither did Virat Kohli. Suryakumar Yadav is also there. Ishan Kishan played a couple of good knocks. But if you just look at the numbers and the impact and the performances, it's once again, Rohit Sharma. And this year has been different because his strike rate has improved significantly and so did his average. And he has also been made the T20I skipper. He has indeed been the best T20I batter. This is the year of Rohit Sharma. In fact, if you ask me to pick the best player from 2021, I would go with Rohit."
And last but not the least, Akshar Patel was chosen as the best debutant. He had made his debut against England this year and has picked 36 wickets in five Tests at just 11.86 with five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul as well.
"Axar has changed the way India have played Test cricket. He picked five five-wicket hauls in five Tests. Even Don Bradman didn't score five centuries in five Tests. And it's equivalent of that. Not just India, he has been the overall best debutant in 2021,” Chopra signed off.
