The India tour of Sri Lanka is less than a week away. The Indian squad is practicing hard for the series. The Shikhar Dhawan-led side has already participated in two intrasquad games. However, unluckily team Sri Lanka will not be able to spend much time in net session due to mandatory quarantine. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra has selected 5 players to watch out for in the Sri Lanka series. Chopra discussed about players in episode 8 of his YouTube series ‘ Betway Cricket Chaupaal’.

While selecting the cricketer to watch out for Aakash Chopra clearly mentioned one thing. The former cricketer said he will not include established players like Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the list. The reason he gave behind not including these players in the list is skills they poses are well known to everybody.

The Kolkata Knight Riders ( KKR ) spinner Varun Chakravarthy was former cricketer’s first pick. Aakash Chopra stated:

“The first name on my list is someone who has never played international cricket. His name is Varun Chakravarthy. If we see the Indian bowling department, a mystery spinner is not there. Once you have a mystery spinner, you feel your bowling is complete.”

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Cricketer turned commentator’s second pick was the man in form 21-year-old Prithvi Shaw who has been sensational throughout 2021. Aakash Chopra asserted:

“The second player I am thinking about is Prithvi Shaw. The form he is in, 2021 is his year. He can leave anyone behind when he is batting, you can put any Indian batsman at the other end. If he shines, that will be fantastic.”

The third choice of former Indian opener was Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav. Chopra believes that SKY can bat at the position and show his top-notch game. Aakash explained:

“At number three, I have kept Suryakumar Yadav. He has been absolutely sensational, there is no doubt about that. The ability to bat both up and down the order separates him from the rest. He has got the all-round game.”

In the IPL Surya was part of team KKR where he was considered as a lower orders batsman. However, Mumbai Indians pushed him to bat at no.3 and no.4 and he has been performing exceptionally well.

Deepak Chahar can do well in ODIs: Aakash Chopra

43-year-old backed Deepak Chahar and said although he was sidelined during the T20I series against England, he still can do well. Aakash Chopra said:

“At number four, I have kept Deepak Chahar. Generally, he always plays in the T20s but if we see the last series, he was in the team but was not given a chance. He is the same bowler who has the world record. He can do well in the ODIs as well.”

While selecting the last player Aakash Chopra said there will be a toss-up between Ishan Kishan or Sanju Samson. Chopra believes they might be in contention for a spot in the T20 World Cup as India might need an extra batsman. Former opener elaborated:

“Last but not the least, there is a toss-up between Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. When you see towards the Indian team, you have KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the wicket-keeper options, but you might need an additional batsman.”

India already has a rough set-up for the T20 World Cup squad. There are only a few places left to be filled by players. Meanwhile, the players who perform well in the Sri Lanka tour and subsequent IPL 2021, they might get ahead in the race.

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