Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked five Indian youngsters who are expected to shine in IPL 2020. He made these picks when asked to do so by a fan in a video shared on the reputed commentator’s YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra picked Kolkata Knight Rider’s Shubman Gill, Rajasthan Royals Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kings XI Punjab’s Ravi Bishnoi, Mumbai Indian’s Rahul Chahar and Royal Challenger Bangalore’s Devdutt Padikkal as the five youngsters to watch out for.
Aakash Chopra Picks Openers Shubman Gill And Yashasvi Jaiswal:
Aakash Chopra’s first pick as a youngster likely to shine in the upcoming IPL 2020 was the Kolkata Knight Riders opener Shubman Gill, but he made it a point to mention that the list is not in any particular order.
“Firstly I will pick Shubman Gill. He is the opener for KKR, this year I feel will be very special for him. One thing is he will get a lot of opportunities and he will make the best use of them,” Aakash Chopra said.
The former KKR player went for Yashasvi Jaiswal as the second Indian youngster who could earn a name for himself in IPL 2020 and expressed hope that the Rajasthan Royals give him the opportunity to face the new ball.
“After him, I see Yashasvi Jaiswal. He is also a very good player. I expect this season will be good for him and hope that he will get the chance to open the batting for Rajasthan Royals. He is a swashbuckling left-hander and has a very good temperament.”
The Indian Under-19 team’s star leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi was Aakash Chopra’s third pick as a youngster who could mesmerise the opposition with his tricks in the upcoming IPL. The latter added that the KXIP head coach Anil Kumble would be a great mentor for him.
“My third pick will be Ravi Bishnoi, who plays for Kings XI Punjab. There we will have Anil Kumble as well. He bowls leg-spin with a flatter trajectory and has a very good googly.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal was the leading run-scorer in recently concluded U-19 World Cup in 2020 where he scored 400 runs while Ravi Bishnoi was the leading wicket-taker with 17 wickets both having played six matches.
Aakash Chopra Picks Rahul Chahar And Devdutt Pedikkal As Likely Contenders To Have A Great IPL 2020:
Aakash Chopra’s penultimate pick of an Indian youngster who is expected to shine in IPL 2020 was Rahul Chahar, with the Mumbai Indians likely to expect the leg-spinner to lead their slightly thin spin-bowling attack.
“Rahul Chahar, that’s another leg-spinner. Mumbai Indians do not have too much spin-bowling depth. Because of that you want Rahul Chahar to actually come to the fore.”
Aakash Chopra went for Devdutt Padikkal as his final choice among the five Indian youngsters who are likely to show their prowess in the upcoming IPL. He observed that Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Sarfaraz Khan are some of the other players he could have gone for.
“Last but not the least, although there are many others like Nagarkoti, Mavi and Sarfaraz, I am going for Devdutt Padikkal. I want to see him, I don’t know if RCB will play him or not but if they play him, he is a tall left-handed batsman and plays the big shots and his domestic season was very good.”
Devdutt Padikkal had an outstanding 2019-20 season for Karnataka, especially in the limited-overs formats. The left-handed opening batsman has scored 650 runs at an excellent average of 59.09 in List A cricket and 580 runs at an outstanding average of 64.44 in the T20s that he has played so far.