Former Indian opener, Aakash Chopra picked the XI for India’s opening T20I of the three-match series against England and insisted that Deepak Hooda should continue at No.3 for the visitors. The latter Hooda witnessed phenomenal outings against Ireland in the two-match T20I series recently, where he scored a magnificent hundred in the second game.
In the first match, Deepak Hooda got India home with a fine knock of 47 from 29 balls. The right-handed batter was also adjudged Man Of The Series for his consistent run scoring. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra suggested that India should continue allowing Deepak Hooda to bat at No.3 for the first T20I against England on Thursday. The former Indian opener said that he would not go for a change as the Lucknow Super Giants batter played well in the series against Ireland.
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In the latetst video on his channel, Aakash Chopra was heard saying, “I will stick with Deepak Hooda at No. 3. I am not going to make a change because he batted really well (against Ireland). He scored a hundred and almost got fifty in the other game. He was absolutely outstanding.”
The former opener also made suggestions for India’s middle-order for the game and suggested that he would use Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal as the two spinners.
Aakash Chopra added, “I would play Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) at 4, Hardik Pandya at 5 and Dinesh Karthik at 6. Axar Patel had played in the last match and the series before that. He could come in again (at No.7). He and Yuzi Chahal can be the two spinners.”
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Aakash Chopra concluded by saying Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as his pacers for the first T20I. India will be resting a few of the senior players like Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant for the first match on Thursday as they played the rescheduled Test against England which India lost on Tuesday by 7 wickets.
