After the postponement of IPL 2021, the focus of Indian fans now shifts to Team India’s upcoming assignments, including the limited-overs bilateral series against Sri Lanka in July.
Even though India’s second-string team will tour Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is, there is a lot of excitement for the series considering the depth of talent in Indian cricket.
See Also: COC Predicted Team India squad for Sri Lanka ODIs and T20Is
Meanwhile, former India cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has picked his preferred 17-member squad and named veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan as captain. He opted to go with Prithvi Shaw as the second opener and also included Shreyas Iyer in the squad.
“Shikhar Dhawan the captain because we have seen in the last two years that he is upgrading his software and batting with great responsibility. Along with him, I am picking Prithvi Shaw. The form we have seen from him, I feel he should be the front-runner in this race,” Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
“After that Shreyas Iyer if he is available. There is a talk of him playing county cricket but it would be better if you keep him for the six encounters here. Then Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, although Mumbai Indians dropped him halfway through,” he added.
According to Aakash Chopra, Pandya brothers are capable of handling the lower middle-order responsibilities. He also named Hardik Pandya as Dhawan’s deputy.
“Hardik Pandya will be my vice-captain. And then Krunal Pandya. He played the last ODI series against England and performed well also," he said.
Coming to the bowling attack, Chopra picked Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Navdeep Saini as frontline pacers while Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy in the spin department.
“After that Yuzi Chahal. Deepak Chahar whose performances have been outstanding with the white-ball. He should be given a chance in ODIs as well. If Bhuvi and he bowl together, our powerplay problem of not taking wickets can also be sorted out.
“Navdeep Saini has also been kept in cold storage. Neither India is playing him nor RCB. But I will keep him in my team because he was part of the team when India went to Australia and played a Test match also,” Chopra said.
“There is a question mark about T Natarajan's injury. But if he is fit, he will go of course. Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy are the two extra spinners I have kept. I have also given place to Prasidh Krishna in my team,” he further added.
The former India opener also named Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda as the reserve batsmen for the Sri Lanka tour.
“Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda, I will keep both these players. Sanju Samson has been playing good cricket, scored a century this year as well. Deepak Hooda has shown that he can be an explosive batsman at No.6 or No.7 and he can bowl a bit of off-spin,” Chopra concluded.
Aakash Chopra’s India squad for Sri Lanka tour:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Prasidh Krishna.
