T20 cricket is set to return to India as the home team will play a five-match series against West Indies starting Tuesday. The first game of the series will be played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Former opening batter Aakash Chopra, in a recent chat with Star Sports, picked his India playing XI for the series opener. The 48-year-old left out Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

He stuck with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for the opening slot. Samson has been ordinary with the bat in recent times, with just nine runs from two games. Abhishek, on the other hand, has been at his destructive best.

Chopra kept Ishan Kishan at three, followed by skipper Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma at four and five. Speaking about Varma, the veteran cricket commentator said: “Varma has shown great form.”

He then went on to name Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy as the two all-rounders in the side. Giving his reasons behind the move, the former Delhi batter said: “I want Dube and Reddy to play the game, and I will bowl both of them.”

He also named Axar Patel at the number eight slot, hinting that India should go in with a long batting lineup. At number nine, he named Kuldeep Yadav and kept Arshdeep Singh as the lead pacer of the side. For the last spot, Aakash was confused between Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav, with bowlers having the tendency to take wickets.

Speaking about this, the ex-India Test player said, “Prince could be slightly ahead in the pecking order. On the other hand, Mayank has raw pace which you have to unleash, and it is going to be a tough call.

Washington Sundar, who was part of the Asian Games squad, was withdrawn. Naman Dhir, who recently made his ODI debut against West Indies, was named as his replacement. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who recently played in Japan, has been rested to manage his workload.

Aakash Chopra’s IND XI for 1st T20I vs WI

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank or Prince Yadav.