IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra makes bold prediction on most destructive opening pair

Former cricket Aakash Chopra expects Mumbai Indians to have the most destructive opening pair in IPL 2021.

With the new Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) season just a few days away, experts and former cricketers have already started putting out their predictions for the tournament. Former India batsman Aakash Chopra has also joined the bandwagon, stating that he expects defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) to have the most destructive opening pair in the 14th IPL edition.

File Photo of Aakash Chopra. (Twitter)

Mumbai is spoilt for choices when it comes to picking two batsmen for the opening lot. While Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma were regular openers during IPL 2020 in UAE, the five-time champions also have the young Ishan Kishan, who made the headlines with a sparkling fifty on his T20I debut against England in Ahmedabad.

Cricketer-turned-commentator Chopra, responding to a fan's question on his YouTube channel, explained why he thinks this way:

“I will go with Mumbai Indians as they have Quinton de Kock along with Rohit Sharma. There are two good banks there. Even if Quinton de Kock gets replaced by Ishan Kishan, it is again a very explosive pair. I will go with them.”

Both de Kock and Kishan had a spectacular season in 2020.

Both Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan had stellar seasons for Mumbai in IPL 2020. While, the Jharkhand batsman Kishan was the top run-getter for the IPL 2020 champions, with 516 runs in 14 games, Proteas opener Quinton de Kock was second in line, with 503 runs in 16 matches.

Skipper Sharma, on the other hand, had a quiet IPL 2020 as he only scored just 332 runs in 12 games. He also faced injury issues during the end of the tournament. But as they say about Sharma, the "Hitman" is only one big innings away from hitting the top gear again.

Mumbai Indians kick off their campaign against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the season opener in Chennai on April 10.