IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra picks his ideal playing XIs for SRH vs PBKS match

The 37th Match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will witness Punjab Kings (PBKS) locking horns with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side. This clash is slated to be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. And, ahead of this contest, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked the playing XIs for both teams.

Chopra feels that it is time for the Punjab Kings (PBKS) to get Chris Gayle back into their playing XI for the rubber against Hyderabad. Chopra also wants the Punjab side to bring in Nathan Ellis into their playing XI.

And according to Chopra, the two players whom Gayle and Ellis will replace are Fabian Allen and Adil Rashid. Chopra slotted Gayle in at No.3, with Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran coming in at No.4 and No.5 respectively. The rest of the lineup remains the same.

Aakash Chopra picks his ideal SRH Playing XI for the clash against PBKS

According to Chopra, the Hyderabad side should stick with the same playing XI from their previous match. Chopra even reckoned that the ‘Orange Army’ does not have too many options at its disposal.

Both the Punjab Kings and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) sides have struggled to get going in the tournament. While the KL Rahul-led outfit is placed at the 7th spot in the points table, having won just 3 out of their 9 matches, the Hyderabad side is placed at the last spot, having won just a single game out of the 8 that they have played.

In their previous match, the Punjab Kings were beaten by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 2 runs, while the SRH side was pummeled by the Delhi Capitals (DC) side by 8 wickets.

Aakash Chopra’s Predicted PBKS Playing XI: KL Rahul(c and wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Porel, Nathan Ellis

Aakash Chopra’s Predicted SRH Playing XI: David Warner, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Manish Pandey, Kane Williamson (c), Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad, Jason Holder, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed