Aakash Chopra picks his probable squad for limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, names Shikhar Dhawan as captain

Aakash Chopra picks his probable squad for limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, names Shikhar Dhawan as captain

Aakash Chopra and Indian Cricket Team players

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra named his probable squad for the upcoming white-ball India tour of Sri Lanka 2021 later this year. The ‘Men in Blue’ are scheduled to play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and three One Day Internationals (ODIs) from July 13 onwards.

The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Shikhar Dhawan as the skipper of the side. Recent reports also suggest that either Dhawan or Hardik Pandya would lead the Indian contingent if Shreyas Iyer is unavailable for selection. Aakash Chopra picked a 17-member squad for the national side to visit the island nation. 

The 43-year old went with the swashbuckling opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw. The duo set the stage on fire for the Delhi Capitals (DC) during IPL 2021 before the tournament was suspended.

“Shikhar Dhawan is the captain because we have seen in the last two years that he is upgrading his software and batting with great responsibility. Along with him, I am picking Prithvi Shaw. The form we have seen from him, I feel he should be the front-runner in this race,” said Aakash Chopra in his latest YouTube video.

‘Hardik Pandya will be my vice-captain’: Chopra

Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya

Aakash Chopra picked fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the squad. Apart from junior Pandya, the former opening batsman named several other players from Mumbai Indians (MI) as well. This includes the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar for India vs SL 2021.

“After that Shreyas Iyer if he is available. There is a talk of him playing county cricket but it would be better if you keep him for the six encounters here. Then Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, although Mumbai Indians dropped him halfway through. Hardik Pandya will be my vice-captain. And then Krunal Pandya. He played the last ODI series against England and performed well also,” Aakash Chopra said.

Aakash Chopra’s India Tour of Sri Lanka 2021 Team Squad:

Shikhar Dhawan (C), Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini, T Natarajan, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Prasidh Krishna

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