Aakash Chopra has picked his Indian XI for the first Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday in Kanpur IND vs NZ 2021

Aakash Chopra has named his Indian XI for the first Test against New Zealand, which kicks off in Kanpur on Thursday.

The Indian selectors chose to rest Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami for the Test series against New Zealand. Due to a thigh injury, KL Rahul will miss the first Test, while Virat Kohli will be rested.

“The biggest question is six or five batsmen. You can think about playing six batsmen because Kohli, Rohit, Pant and Rahul are not there – all your main batting is gone. So you might want to go with an extra batsman. I will say resist the temptation, it’s okay.” He elaborated

The cricketer-turned-commentator complimented Ravindra Jadeja’s ability to use his willow at No. 6 Aakash Gupta

Mayank Agarwal

“Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Pujara at three, Rahane at four, Iyer at five. These will be your five batsmen. After that, play Jadeja at six. Jadeja can bat at six. Whichever keeper plays, it should be Saha in my opinion, keep him at seven.” Chopra observed

In the last Test against England at the Oval, Jadeja batted at No. 5 for Team India, ahead of Ajinkya Rahane. Despite just scoring 27 runs in two innings, the southpaw has been a dependable batsman in recent years.

“At eight, you keep Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar at nine. Axar can also bat. So you have a lot of batting. I think don’t compromise on the fact that you will need five full bowlers. It is the Kanpur ground, it will get dark early in the evening, so you might lose a few overs.” He reasoned

“My two fast bowlers will be Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj because they will get the ball to reverse swing better than Ishant Sharma.” Aakash Chopra said

Read more: India vs New Zealand: Aakash Chopra believes the India-New Zealand series is important for Ajinkya Rahane

Visit also: India vs New Zealand 2021: It has been a tough 2021 for Shreyas Iyer with a shoulder injury in IPL putting a clamp on his cricket

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