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Asia Cup 2022: No Dinesh Karthik in Aakash Chopra’s Ideal India Playing XI For Pakistan Clash

August 28, 2022
Bharat Times

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has picked his ideal Playing XI of India for the crucial clash against arch-rivals in Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Chopra took to Twitter to share his team as he preferred Rishabh Pant over Dinesh Karthik in his XI.

The cricketer-turned-commentator is very vocal about his views and opinions and is quite active on social media. A few hours before the high-octane clash, Chopra posted his XI on his Twitter account.

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He picked captain Rohit Sharma and his deputy KL Rahul as the opening pair. India have used several players as Rohit’s partner in recent times when Rahul was out of the team due to injury, however, now the flamboyant batter is fully fit and is expected to open the innings.

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While Chopra chose Virat Kohli to bat at number 3. The batting maverick took a short break from cricket to manage his workload and now will play his 100th T20I match on Sunday. The 33-year-old has not been at his best in recent times and is struggling to manufacture big runs as his last international century came way back in 2019.

Chopra made a bold pick by preferring Pant over DK as the wicketkeeper batter. Karthik has been the designated finisher for Team India in recent times but playing both him and Pant will disturb the balance of the side.

While he chose India’s best batter in the shortest format at the moment – Suryakumar Yadav to bat at number 5.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja were the two all-rounders in Chopra’s XI who also have to play the finisher’s role in the side.

In the bowling department, Chopra went with three pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh. While he chose Yuzvendra Chahal as the only specialist spinner as he also has Jadeja in the XI to partner with the leg-spinner.

Aakash Chopra’s India XI For Pakistan Clash: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan

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