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The ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 has reached its business end, and after the completion of the fifteenth season, the India and South Africa players will be seen in action in the upcoming T20I series.
Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced the India squad for the five-match leg that starts on June 9. Uncapped pacers Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have received their maiden call-ups after their consistent performances in the cash-rich league.
With a mixture of youth and experience, it would be a challenging task for Team India to field a balanced playing XI. Before the battle of the shortest format begins, former India opener Aakash Chopra has picked his India XI for the T20Is.
Chopra reckoned that Ishan Kishan is most likely to feature in the XI, but he might not open alongside KL Rahul as Ruturaj Gaikwad is also there in the squad.
“What is the composition of the XI you are going to see? I feel you might see Ishan Kishan opening alongside KL Rahul. But there are a lot of keepers, so he might not open, you can open with Ruturaj Gaikwad and not Ishan Kishan, that’s a choice”, said Chopra while speaking on his official YouTube channel.
Chopra named Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Hooda alongside Rishabh Pant and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya to make the decent middle-order. However, the cricketer-turned-commentator didn’t opt for veteran Indian batter Dinesh Karthik. Notably, Karthik is making a comeback to the India squad for the first time since the 2019 World Cup.
“I feel Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Hooda should definitely get a place in the XI. After that, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya. That makes your middle order ready. Your batting becomes formidable there”, added Chopra.
Here is Aakash Chopra’s XI for SA T20Is:
KL Rahul (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan
