Aakash Chopra has made his predictions for the first T20I between Team India and Ireland to be played on Sunday, June 26.
The Men In Blue are scheduled to play two T20Is against Ireland. With some of the main team players away in England for the final Test of the five-match series, the Hardik Pandya-led Indian side mostly comprises limited-overs specialists.
Aakash Chopra Predicted New Ball Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar And Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal To Pick Wickets
Yuzvendra Chahal snared six wickets in the two T20Is he played against Ireland in 2018. On the other hand, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had a fantastic series against South Africa. He picked up six wickets in the series at an economy rate of 6.07 and picked up the Man of the Series award.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra predicted Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal to be amongst the wickets, elaborating: “Bhuvi and Chahal will together take more than three wickets. Bhuvi will bowl with the new ball and last time Chahal demolished them also. It is definitely a four-year-old thing but this team doesn’t play spin that well, that is known around the world.”
The former Indian opener expects significant contributions from batter Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya with the bat.
Aakash Chopra observed: “Suryakumar Yadav who has come back, up above the world so high SKY will shine like a diamond, and Hardik Pandya will together score more than 60 runs, that’s what I feel. The big question will be if Surya should bat at three or four, I will play him at three, and Hardik will come at four or five.”
Suryakumar Yadav is returning to the Indian team after recovering from an injury he sustained during IPL 2022. Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, will be captaining Team India for the first time and is heading into the series on the back of excellent performances in the IPL 2022 and recent T20I matches against South Africa.
Aakash Chopra Feels Curtis Campher And Paul Stirling Will Together Score More Than 45 Runs
Aakash Chopra feels Curtis Campher and Paul Stirling will make decent contributions with the bat for the hosts.
He explained: “Curtis Campher and Paul Stirling will together score more than 45 runs. You might say that Stirling does not have the form if you see his last few matches but form is temporary, Paul Stirling is a good player. He bowls a little as well. Curtis Campher’s stature is going on growing.”
Currently one of the most experienced members in the Ireland line-up, opener Paul Stirling will have to play a crucial role if his team has to do well against India. The Irish will be relying heavily on the 31-year-old all-rounder to come good against the strong opposition.
The hard-hitting batter at the top of the order has got a ton of experience, playing in several T20 leagues and domestic matches and that will pose a big threat. In the 102 T20I matches Paul Stirling has represented Ireland in so far, he has got 2,776 runs to his name at an average of over 29.
Curtis Campher, the right-handed batter has scored 388 runs averaging 38.8 in 13 ODIs and 169 runs averaging 18.78 in 12 T20Is. The right-arm pacer had also picked 10 scalps in ODIs averaging 36.2 and 15 scalps in T20Is averaging 22.