Jose Butler and KL Rahul were the openers. Both put on a stellar performance throughout the tournament. Jose Butler is the highest run scorer of the season. Rahul is in second place. So Chopra did not have to think twice to select both players as openers.
Rahul Tripathi and Hardik Pandya are in third and fourth place respectively. Tripathi is the star of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team failed to reach the playoffs, but the player won the toss and elected to field. With his performance in the IPL, there was a need to include the player in the national team. But the selectors did not relent.
Pandya is also the captain of Chopra’s team. Pandya scored 487 runs and took 10 wickets in 15 matches. Pandya, who played well in both the final and the play-offs, was instrumental in making Gujarat champions. Liam Livingstone and David Miller are Chopra’s next in line. Both of them put out impressive performances in the tournament.
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All-rounder was Andre Russell. Yusvendra Chahal also joined the team as a spinner. Chahal is the only player to win the Purple Cap in the tournament. Chahal took 27 wickets for Rajasthan Royals this time. Chopra’s squad also includes Lucknow’s Avesh Khan, Gujarat’s Mohammad Shami and Punjab’s Arshdeep Singh. However, Jaspreet Bumra, Vanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel were not considered.
