Aakash Chopra Picks His Test XI Of 2021, 4 Indians Included

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra in his latest Youtube video has picked his best  Test XI of 2021. With the year drawing to a close, Chopra has picked the best players who feature in his XI. The year has seen some of the best knocks in the toughest format of the game with the likes of Kane Williamson, Joe Root playing an innings to remember. 

While sharing his team through a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra picked Rohit Sharma as his first opener. Along with Rohit, he has picked Dimuth Karunaratne as his second opener. 

Aakash Chopra Picks Rohit Sharma As One Of His Openers

“The first name coming to my mind is Rohit Sharma. It was a huge year for him, it was the year in which he fell in love with the longest format. He played amazing knocks, whether it was the century in Chennai and the consistent performances in England.”

Coming down to the middle-order of his XI, Chopra has picked Jor Toot at three, Kane Williamson at four, Fawad Alam at five an Rishabh Pant at six. 

“There was no contest at No.3. Joe Root is part of this team. He is the best Test batter of 2021, miles above the rest. He is just in a different league altogether. Root gave amazing performances, whether it was the double century in India or Sri Lanka.”

“At No.4, I have got Williamson. He scored a double century against Pakistan and he won his team the final. He played a very important knock in the final as well. Kane Williamson is also the captain of this team.”

“My team has Fawad Alam. It is a story of persistence, that he will keep on playing whether you select him or not. He has made runs, the noticeable performances being 109 against South Africa, 140 against Zimbabwe and 124 against West Indies.”

Rishabh Pant in under pressure situation times :-

97(118) vs AUS at Sydney.
89*(138) vs AUS at Gabba.
91(88) vs ENG in Chennai.
58*(77) vs ENG in Chennai.
101(118) vs ENG at Motera.

This man always Delivered for India in Crucial and under pressure situation. Absolute saviour. pic.twitter.com/4eTozPEXA2

— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) March 5, 2021

“The keeper is Rishabh Pant. I was thinking about Jos Buttler as well but no one was close to him. The sort of performances Rishabh Pant has given – 101 against England, 89 at Gabba and a ninety in Sydney as well. He has been very very good” Aakash Chopra said on the above-mentioned cricketers. 

Coming down to his bowling attack, Aakash Chopra picked Kyle Jamieson as his seam bowling all-rounder. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel are his specialist spinners. Ashwin went past 400 Test wickets this year while Axar has had a year to remember so far in his Test career. He has picked five-fifers in his first four Tests. 

https://twitter.com/RAshwinExtra/status/1470029230150848512?s=20

“After that, I am picking two Indians. Ravichandran Ashwin – he has taken a lot of wickets. He was brilliant in India against England. Ash made a century against England as well. He is the no.1 spinner in Test cricket, there is no doubt about it.”

James Anderson and Shaheen Shah Afridi complete his XI as the two specialist pacers in the XI. 

Aakash Chopra’s Test XI of 2021

Rohit Sharma, Dimuth Karunaratne, Joe Root, Kane Williamson (c), Fawad Alam, Rishabh Pant, Kyle Jamieson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, James Anderson, Shaheen Afridi