Aakash Chopra picks his best India-England Test XI of 21st century; MS Dhoni excluded

Former Indian cricketer and analyst Aakash Chopra has revealed his best India and England Test XI of the 21st century. He started off his strongest XI with Sachin Tendulkar and Alastair Cook as his opening batters.

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Later, he went ahead with Rahul Dravid, with Joe Root not finding a spot in the playing XI. Subsequently, at No.4, legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar made it to the XI. Moreover, Virat Kohli has been included at the 5th spot ahead of Kevin Pietersen.

"You will have to keep Virender Sehwag on one side. He has two triple centuries and a lot of runs to his name. Along with him, no one is challenging Alastair Cook either," Aakash Chopra told on his YouTube channel.

"As I am Indian and have played with Jammy, I will definitely want to keep Rahul bhai in my team, but I won't argue with you if you keep Joe Root in your team. At No. 4, there is no contest. I am going with Sachin Tendulkar," Chopra added.

"At No. 5, there is a discussion. It could be Kevin Pietersen or Virat Kohli. If you are an English person, you may want to go with Pietersen, but then there is Virat Kohli. I don't know how you can leave Virat Kohli out. So I am going wth Virat Kohli at No. 5," he stated.

Moreover, Rishabh Pant has been included as the keeper-batter after his twin centuries in the Leeds Test, becoming the second keeper-batter after Andy Flower to do so in England. Later, English skipper Ben Stokes has been included at No. 7. Also, Ravi Ashwin will be the sole spinner in the XI in English conditions.

Furthermore, Chopra has picked three fast bowlers in his XI, with James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, and Stuart Broad being part of the pace battery. However, Chopra has included Ravindra Jadeja as another spin option for sub-continent conditions. 

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"At No. 6, I have got Rishabh Pant. At No. 7, I have Ben Stokes. After that, I have kept Ravichandran Ashwin's name. Also, I will keep three fast bowlers, in which Sir Jimmy Anderson is right up there. He is a champion. Jasprit Bumrah is going to be there, whether the match is in India or England," Chopra noted.

"At No. 11, if the matches are happening in England, I will think about Zaheer Khan, but keep Stuart Broad. He is a phenomenal bowler in these conditions. In India, I will need another spinner. Then I will keep Ravindra Jadeja's name," he stated.

Aakash Chopra's India-England combined best Test XI of the 21st century: Virender Sehwag, Alastair Cook, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ben Stokes, Ravi Ashwin, James Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Stuart Broad/Ravindra Jadeja

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