Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has selected his Indian XI for the fourth Test against England in Manchester. He included Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel in his XI, batting at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.

India is trailing 1-2 in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and has to win at Old Trafford to keep their prospects of winning a series in England alive since 2007. Chopra claimed that Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul should open for India in the next Test.

“There will be no question regarding the two openers. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in the third Test match was average, but this is to be expected. Runs are not scored in every match. KL Rahul got century in both the first and third matches. So there should be no changes there,” Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.

Chopra insisted on keeping Karun Nair at No. 3, giving him another shot. He chose Indian captain Shubman Gill to play at No. 4. The former Indian opener encouraged Indian team management to include Pant at No. 5, despite the fact that he had not kept wicket in the previous game due to a hand injury.

“There will be a question at No. 3 about whether Karun Nair should be given another chance. Karun Nair hasn’t appeared utterly out of place. However, he has not scored enough runs to be confident of his selection. “I am still tempted to play him another match at No. 3 because he may not get another chance,” Chopra added.

“Shubman Gill is at No. 4. Ravi Shastri stated that Rishabh Pant should not play if he does not maintain. I believe only four players have scored runs: KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant. He scored runs even after being hurt. “If Rishabh Pant can’t keep, play him as a batter,” he said.

Chopra chose Jurel to bat at No. 6, citing his performance in the two-match series between India A and England Lions. He also mentioned that Jurel can keep wicket if Pant is not fit enough to do so.

“I’m thinking Dhruv Jurel at No. 6 since you only have top-order alternatives after him. You began with Karun at No. 6 and Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, but this is unlikely to occur. “Play Dhruv Jurel at No. 6 because he scored runs for India A against the England Lions,” Chopra said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator revealed that seasoned Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar will keep their places in the XI. Because the track at Old Trafford is better suited to pacers, India is unlikely to select Kuldeep Yadav as an extra spinner.

Chopra feels Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj will be in the playing XI. The visitors are still undecided about the third pacer, with Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna leading the pack. If Akash Deep is ruled out owing to the groin niggle he suffered at Lord’s, India may be obliged to insert a new player into the team.

“Ravindra Jadeja will definitely play. I believe Washington Sundar will also play because he just took four wickets. I believe you cannot play an extra spinner here. It’s not Oval or Edgbaston. You’ll need to play fast bowlers here. “So I’m thinking three fast bowlers,” Chopra remarked.

“Siraj and Bumrah will undoubtedly be spotted playing. If Akash Deep is unavailable, the third pacer might be either Anshul Kamboj or Prasidh Krishna. Ideally, you should return to Prasidh Krishna, but he has leaked many runs. So you might see Anshul Kamboj make his debut here,” he said.

Aakash Chopra’s XI for India in fourth Test:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Anshul Kamboj/Akash Deep