Aakash Chopra picks his top 6 uncapped Indian players who did well in IPL 2021

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has named six uncapped Indian players who have impressed him the most during the 29 matches which were conducted in the Indian Premier League 2021. The rest of the tournament will be held sometime else and was postponed indefinitely due to the rising cases of coronavirus. 

Chopra firstly mentioned Avesh Khan, who was recently even selected as a backup player for the Indian Test team which will go to England for the ICC World Test Championship final and the five-match series in England. The Delhi Capitals pacer took 14 wickets in six matches. Chopra pointed out that in the absence of Capitals’ overseas bowler Anrich Nortje, Khan took the onus on himself to deliver the goods. 

For the second spot, he went with Harshal Patel, who took 17 wickets from seven matches in IPL 2021, and was the highest wicket-taker when the league got suspended. “At No.2, I have kept Harshal Patel. He has taken the most wickets. He has worked on his slower ones, he has the loopy slower ones similar to Bumrah. Patel is bowling good yorkers, the pace has also increased slightly and bowled very accurately,” observed Chopra in his YouTube video. 

Aakash Chopra names two players each from RCB and Punjab Kings

For the number 3 spot, he went with Devdutt Padikkal, another Royal Challengers Bangalore player. The left-handed batsman scored his maiden IPL century during this season. Chopra said that not a lot of uncapped Indian players have scored centuries in the league, which is quite a good achievement for the young Karnataka batsman. 

Chopra also went with Harpreet Brar, the Punjab Kings all-rounder, who impressed everyone during a match against RCB. The young Punjabi player took the wickets of AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell and in the subsequent match also picked up the wicket of Prithvi Shaw. Aakash Chopra said that he also liked the youngster’s batting a lot. 

For the next spot, he picked Ravi Bishnoi. “At No.5, I should go with Ravi Bishnoi. He took a couple of Superman catches. When he bowled, he had the wet ball on a couple of occasions. He didn’t play all the matches, wasn’t magical but was impressive,” added Chopra.

For the last and final spot, Chopra went to pick Chetan Sakariya, the young left-arm spinner of Rajasthan Royals. He bowled quite well and ensured that he made a name for himself in his debut season. He has seven scalps from seven matches. Chopra observed, “He has both the back of the hand and normal slower one. If you talk about temperament and technique, there is a lot to like about him,” concluded Chopra.

Aakash Chopra’s picks: Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Harpreet Brar, Ravi Bishnoi, Chetan Sakariya