‘Whom will you bat at No.7?’: Only 1 overseas player in top 5, no place for Harbhajan in Aakash Chopra’s ideal KKR XI

Former India and KKR batsman Aakash Chopra has picked the ideal playing XI for the Knight Riders in his latest video on YouTube.

Eoin Morgan’s Kolkata Knight Riders have begun preparation for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which begins on April 9. Most of the players have finished their mandatory quarantine and are sweating it out at the nets.

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra (L), Dinesh karthik (R) (HT Collage)

KKR have got an excellent mix of young and experienced players in their squad. It has also got a dynamic set of overseas players who are capable of providing the required balance to the team against any opposition.

Meanwhile, former India and KKR batsman Aakash Chopra has picked the ideal playing XI for the Knight Riders. In the latest video on YouTube, he suggested an Indian opening combination with captain Morgan being the only overseas player in the top five in his ideal KKR XI.

“I will have Tripathi as an opener with Gill. I will keep Nitish Rana at No.3, Morgan at No.4 and Dinesh Karthik at No.5. This is your top five. Now you keep Andre Russell at No.6. If you keep him at No.6, the slight question will be whom will you bat at No.7,” said Chopra.

The cricketer-turned-commentator went on to suggest that Australian quick Pat Cummins can be played at No 7 position, who showcased his batting ability in IPL 2020 with some quickfire cameos.

“I would say try with Pat Cummins,” said Chopra. “If you keep Pat Cummins at No.7, you will have four proper bowlers after that. Varun Chakravarthy and Prasidh Krishna can be there in that. That makes it two,” he added.

Chopra further suggested that the team management franchise can choose between Lockie Ferguson’s pace or the spin duo of Sunil Narine and Shakib Al Hasan as the fourth overseas option.

“You have picked only three overseas. So, depending on the pitch you can pick an overseas fast bowler like Lockie Ferguson. You can also pick Sunil Narine or Shakib Al Hasan. You can also play Kuldeep Yadav,” added Chopra.

“They should just open up to the idea of dropping Sunil Narine, if things are not working out. He is a big player but his bowling has not been that sharp since questions were raised about his action,” signed off Chopra.

Aakash Chopra’s ideal KKR XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Sunil Narine, Kuldeep Yadav

The knights begin their IPL 2021 campaign on April 11 against Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.