Former India international Aakash Chopra has picked his Test team of the year, featuring the likes of Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. The cricketer-turned-commentator picked Kane Williamson as the skipper, with Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant as the other two Indians in his Test XI of the year.
Sharing the team on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Rohit as his first opener and underlined the senior opener’s ton in Chennai, which was followed by impressive outings in England. He further named Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne as the second opener.
“The first name coming to my mind is Rohit Sharma. It was a huge year for him, it was the year in which he fell in love with the longest format. He played amazing knocks, whether it was the century in Chennai and the consistent performances in England,” said Chopra.
“My second opener is Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne. He has also made runs which also includes a double century. He was playing well against West Indies also. He might not be too pleasing on the eye but scores runs.”
Chopra’s next two picks were Joe Root and Kane Williamson. While Root shattered many batting records including most Test runs for England in a calendar year, Williamson led his side to the coveted World Test Championship (WTC) trophy and also scored a double century against Pakistan.
“There was no contest at No.3. Joe Root is part of this team. He is the best Test batter of 2021, miles above the rest. He is just in a different league altogether. He gave amazing performances, whether it was the double century in India or Sri Lanka.
“At No.4, I have got Williamson. He scored a double century against Pakistan and he won his team the final. He played a very important knock in the final as well. Kane Williamson is also the captain of this team,” Chopra further said.
Chopra also picked Fawad Alam, who became the fastest Pakistan batter to record five hundreds. He scored his fifth Test ton only in his 22nd innings. Rishabh Pant’s performances on the Australian soil made Chopra pick the young wicketkeeper-batter in Test XI. Pant notched up 706 runs at an impressive average of 41.52 this year.
“My team has Fawad Alam. It is a story of persistence, that he will keep on playing whether you select him or not. He has made runs, the noticeable performances being 109 against South Africa, 140 against Zimbabwe and 124 against West Indies.”
“The keeper is Rishabh Pant. I was thinking about Jos Buttler as well but no one was close to him. The sort of performances Rishabh Pant has given – 101 against England, 89 at Gabba and a ninety in Sydney as well. He has been very very good.
Chopra next picked Kyle Jamieson, who is handy with the bat as well, followed by two Indian spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel. Ashwin is the leading Test wicket-taker this year with 52 plucks in eight matches. Axar, who had a memorable debut series against England, has 21 wickets to his name in just six innings.
“After that, I am picking two Indians. Ravichandran Ashwin – he has taken a lot of wickets. He was brilliant in India against England. He made a century against England as well. He is the no.1 spinner in Test cricket, there is no doubt about it.”
Chopra went with James Anderson and Shaheen Afridi as his final two picks. “I have picked two fast bowlers apart from Jamieson. Jimmy Anderson – he took 32 wickets this year. He did well in India, took a five-wicket haul in Sri Lanka and did well against India again at home.
“Last but not the least, I have got Shaheen Afridi. His performances this year have been very good. He was also taking five-wicket hauls like Axar. It will also give a left-armer, he is tall, pitches the ball up and makes it swing,” he said.
Aakash Chopra’s Test XI of the year: Rohit Sharma, Dimuth Karunaratne, Joe Root, Kane Williamson (c), Fawad Alam, Rishabh Pant, Kyle Jamieson, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, James Anderson, Shaheen Afridi.