Mumbai Indians Star Snubbed As Aakash Chopra Picks His India XI For 1st ODI vs South Africa
India play a three-match series against South Africa. The first game will be played on November 30 in Ranchi.
- Aakash Chopra snubbed Mumbai Indians' batter Tilak Varma while naming his India XI for 1st South Africa ODI
- He preferred Rishabh Pant over Tilak while naming the list of eleven players for the game in Ranchi
- Chopra also backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the innings for India with veteran player Rohit Sharma
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra picked his India XI for the first ODI against South Africa. He snubbed Mumbai Indians' star batter Tilak Varma while naming the list of players. Meanwhile, Chopra backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the innings for India with veteran player Rohit Sharma. He, however, added that Jaiswal needs to grab the few opportunities he gets in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill. Notably, Gill and India's ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer miss out on the series against the Proteas due to their respective injuries.
"In my opinion, Yashasvi Jaiswal will be seen with Rohit Sharma as opener for two reasons. First is the left-hand and right-hand combination, and also in the pecking order Yashasvi is a bit ahead of Ruturaj Gaikwad," said Chopra in a video on X.
"It is an important series for him as he has come in place of the captain (Gill). He won't be getting many opportunities so he needs to grab the ones he gets," he added.
Notably, Gill is the regular opener alongside Rohit in the ODI format for India.
Chopra preferred Rishabh Pant over Tilak. He said, "I will keep Pant at number five. And if you are thinking 'why not Tilak Varma?' then let me remind you that Pant was a part of the team that won the Champions Trophy. If he was a part of the team back then, he should be kept now as well because he will be getting a chance this time."
Interestingly, Chopra's Playing XI also had a place for all-rounder Nitish Reddy, who has been facing criticism after his failure in the second South Africa Test in Guwahati.
Aakash Chopra's India XI for first ODI vs South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (c), Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh.
India play a three-match series against South Africa. The first game will be played on November 30 in Ranchi. The second and the third matches will take place in Raipur and Visakhapatnam on December 3 and 6, respectively.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team