Former Indian opener, Aakash Chopra has picked his IPL 2021 XI based on the performances which the franchises put up during the first 29 matches. The tournament was indefinitely postponed untimely and indefinitely as the second wave of the coronavirus affected the league. To begin the list, Chopra excluded Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Having said that, the cricketer turned commentator picked up Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, the top two leading run-getters in the tournament.
Dhawan amassed as many as 380 runs in eight matches, while Rahul had amassed as many as 331 runs from seven matches. At no. 3, Chopra went with Faf du Plessis, based on his destructive style of batting. For no. 4 and no. 5, the former Delhi batsman went with the dependable RCB batsmen, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers.
Aakash Chopra explained selecting Maxwell and De Villiers based on their knocks during the course of the season. For no. 6, he decided to include Rishabh Pant, whose inclusion is surprising considering that he didn’t have the best of seasons.
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For the all-rounders’ slot, Aakash Chopra selected two players and Ravindra Jadeja was one of them. Explaining the decision, Chopra said, “At No.7, you can keep Jaddu. His bowling was very good and he batted amazingly well. He played in a bold fashion and run-outs while fielding, four catches in an innings. He knows everything, he has been absolutely brilliant.”
It is worth noting that Chopra made his XI according to the IPL norms of having four overseas players. For the no. 8, Chopra he included Chris Morris, who justified his price tag of ₹16.25 crores by playing some good cricket. He explained, “At No.8, I have got Chris Morris. He continuously did something or the other, either in batting or bowling. On the whole, he kept paying the EMIs of the 16.25 crores for which he was bought.”
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For the last three slots, Chopra rightly selected Rahul Chahar, Avesh Khan, and Harshal Patel, who are 4th, 2nd, and 1st respectively in the list of leading wicket-takers in the suspended tournament so far.
Aakash Chopra’s IPL 2021 XI: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Chris Morris, Rahul Chahar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel
