Aakash Chopra Named His Top 5 Test Batters: 2021 has been an interesting year for cricket lovers. Fans got to witness some rivetting Test cricket action – from the Gabba Test to the inaugural World Test Championship final or the Ashes now. Several players have dished out extraordinary performances with the willow this year. While Joe Root turned out to be the Joe Root is the highest run-getter, on the other hand, Dimuth Karunaratne has the best average among the top scorers this year.
Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra, who is a regular at voicing his opinion on cricket and performances of cricketers, named his top five Test batters of 2021. While two Indian players have made it to his list, but no Australian, New Zealander made it to his best five.
The first batter picked by Aakash Chopra was Pakistan middle-order batter, Fawad Alam. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash hailed Fawad for grabbing every opportunity with both hands. He said:
“Fawad Alam is there in the five names I have picked. 7 matches, 513 runs at an average of 57.1 including three centuries. He had faded into oblivion but once he has made a comeback, he has not stopped. He is grabbing every opportunity with both hands.”
The second name that Aakash included was Lahiru Thirimanne and the reason behind his inclusion was his excellent performances in alien conditions. He explained:
“Another name who is there in my mind is Lahiru Thirimanne. He played 7 matches, made 659 runs at an average of 50.6, with a top score of 140. He has played against South Africa in South Africa, against England in England, against West Indies in West Indies and against Bangladesh at home.”
Further, Aakash picked Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma as two Indian batters in his top-five list. While he hailed Pant for his keeping and batting heroics, on the other hand, he lauded Rohit Sharma for his sensational performances throughout the year. He said:
“The third name in the list is Rishabh Pant. He has played 11 matches, made 706 runs at an average of 41.5, one hundred and has done very well in keeping also. It is unbelievable that he is the fastest visiting wicketkeeper to reach 500 runs in Australia in Tests.”
He added:
“The fourth name in my list is Rohit Sharma. He has been absolutely sensational. 11 matches, 906 runs at an average of 47.6, two hundreds with a highest of 161. This is Rohit Sharma’s watershed year as a Test cricketer. He has started loving leaving and defending balls.”
The last name picked by Aakash Chopra was Joe Root, who is the highest run-getter of this year. Calling him a ‘player par excellence’, Chopra stated that Root deserves to be the best test batter of 2021. He said:
“The fifth name is Joe Root. 12 matches, 1455 runs, 6 hundreds with a best of 228. The double century at Chennai in the first Test and a double century in Sri Lanka, back-to-back centuries against India in England. He has been a player par excellence. In my opinion, Joe Root has to be the best Test batter of 2021.”
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