Aakash Chopra reveals India’s playing XI for first ODI vs NZ; four pacers included

Former Indian opening batter and commentator Aakash Chopra has revealed India’s playing XI for the first ODI against New Zealand, scheduled to start on Sunday, January 11, at BCA Stadium in Vadodara.

Moving into the details of his XI, Chopra has included four seamers in his playing XI. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra has slotted Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli in the top-order while Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul form the middle-order.

"Rohit Sharma will open with Shubman Gill. Shubman has to score runs for the simple reason that he is now not part of the T20 setup. So he will be out of action completely for the next two-and-a-half months. He is not coming after scoring a lot of runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy either. His focus will be on regaining the lost glory," Chopra said.

Moving forward, he has picked Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar as the all-rounders while Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj form the pace battery with Kuldeep Yadav leading the spin attack.

"Virat Kohli will come at No. 3. There is no doubt about that. Shreyas Iyer is fit and available and scoring runs. So he will be at No. 4 and KL Rahul at No. 5. The fight is only at No. 6. If you have selected Nitish Kumar Reddy, play him now at least," he observed.

"Otherwise, you have the option to play Washington Sundar at No. 6, but do you want to play him at No. 6? I would say leave it. Play Nitish Kumar Reddy at No. 6 and Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7," Chopra stated.

"You need batting at No. 8. If you want an extra spinner, play Washi. I would say play Harshit Rana because dew will come everywhere. Keep Kuldeep Yadav at No. 9, and after that, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj, and that will be my XI," he noted.

Aakash Chopra’s India playing XI for first ODI vs NZ: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

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