Table of Contents
Former India international Aakash Chopra has selected his ideal playing XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He picked the team in a video shared on his Facebook page.
Chopra started the proceedings by naming Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal as openers.
The 42-year-old termed Finch as a match-winner in the shortest format of the game. He heaped praises on Padikkal for performing pretty well in the domestic circuit.
“Aaron Finch is a match-winner in T20 cricket. If he stays till 12-14 overs, he will make the opposition pay. He plays both spin and pace well. Along with him, I have a wildcard entry in Devdutt Padikkal. I am going with Padikkal because no one has seen him and he has been doing very well in domestic cricket,” said Chopra.
With no surprises, Chopra went with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for number three and four positions. He said that Kohli shouldn’t open the innings for RCB.
Since Chopra didn’t pick Parthiv Patel at the top, he decided to make De Villiers as his team’s wicket-keeper batsman.
“At No.3, I have got the run machine, Virat Kohli. I don’t want to make him open to lengthen the batting lineup; I want him at three. At No.4, I have got AB de Villiers, and he will also be my wicket-keeper. If he can keep in BBL and other leagues, then why not in the IPL,” Chopra added.
Chopra chooses Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube as batting all-rounders
The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Moeen Ali and Shivam Dube as batting all-rounders. He also named Chris Morris and Washington Sundar as his bowling all-rounders.
“I want to play Moeen Ali, who will also give me a few overs. At No.6, I have got Shivam Dube. He is an India player and has also struck a half-century in international cricket. After him, I want to play Chris Morris, who has been bought after paying a huge amount. Washington Sundar is at No.8. He also bats and plays for India. He can bowl in the powerplay as well,” Chopra added further.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal was the only specialist spinner chosen by Chopra. The former Delhi cricketer said that Yuzi would be a key factor for RCB in UAE.
The 42-year-old picked Navdeep Saini as one of the seam bowlers in Chopra’s ideal RCB XI. The cricket analyst also opined that Challengers could rotate between Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj as the other pacer.
“I feel Yuzvendra Chahal will do well in the UAE. And then I want to play Navdeep Saini; he can do well. Along with him, you can play Umesh Yadav/Siraj,” concluded Chopra.
Here is Aakash Chopra’s ideal Royal Challengers Bangalore playing XI:
Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav/Mohammad Siraj.
