Former India opener Aakash Chopra has revealed his playing XI for the Indian team for the first ODI against England which will be played on July 12, 2022 at The Oval in London. This will be the first of the three-match series with the rest of the matches to be played at Lord’s on July 14 and at Old Trafford on July 17.
Virat Kohli is most likely to miss the first ODI match as reportedly he suffered from a groin injury in the third T20I against England recently. As for the first ODI, Shreyas Iyer is being seen as the perfect replacement for Virat Kohli.
But Aakash Chopra, who revealed his preferred Team India XI for the first ODI on his YouTube channel, left everyone surprised with his prediction.
The former India opener-turned-pundit named the players he would pick for the first ODI. In place of Kohli, Iyer was Chopra's pick for the No. 3 spot while Suryakumar Yadav came in at No. 4.
ENG v IND 2022: COC predicted Team India playing XI for the first ODI against England
"If Kohli is not there, the team selection will become very simple; it will be very straightforward. Shikhar Dhawan with Rohit Sharma, a left-right opening combination, once again KL Rahul's absence removes the selection headache.
"Shreyas at No. 3 and SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) at No. 4. SKY scored a century in 20 overs; so he will do the magic in 50 overs. These are important knocks for Shreyas Iyer because the heat is rising slightly. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya this makes it six,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
In a surprising move, Chopra opted to leave Jasprit Bumrah out of the XI and picked Arshdeep Singh over Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj.
He added: "Jaddu at No. 7. Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, I will give a debut to Arshdeep Singh; I will give him the cap. I want to play him ahead of Siraj, that's what I believe. And Yuzi Chahal will be my No. 11."
Aakash Chopra's India XI for 1st ODI vs England:
Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
