Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the likely starting XI for the Men in Blue in the first T20I against New Zealand. Rinku Singh did not find a place in the team of his choice.

The first T20I of the five-match series between India and New Zealand will be played in Nagpur on Wednesday, January 21. Rinku, who was out of India’s T20I plans recently, is back in the team after the selectors decided to omit Shubman Gill and Jitesh Sharma from the T20 World Cup squad.

in a video ‘Aakash Chopra’ shared on his YouTube channel, the former India opener has no choice Rinku The hosts could finish in the top seven.

“The XI could look like this – Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan at No. 3, Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4 and then Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel could be at No. 5 to No. 7,” he said.

Just when I’m looking forward to it Harshit Rana Chopra feels that to become an all-rounder at No. 8, Suryakumar Yadav will have to choose between Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav as one of the specialist bowlers.

“Harshit Rana comes in at number eight. Then you have the option of playing with Harshit and Jasprit Bumrah and then Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy can play together, otherwise there is no place for Arshdeep Singh, Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy,” he commented.

Aakash Chopra’s India XI (IND vs NZ 2026 1st T20I): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh/Kuldeep Yadav.

‘It doesn’t give people the same confidence as before’ – Aakash Chopra on India’s top 4 ahead of IND vs NZ 2026 1st T20I

Suryakumar Yadav has been absent of late. (Image credit: Getty)Suryakumar Yadav has been absent of late. (Image credit: Getty)
Suryakumar Yadav has been absent of late. (Image credit: Getty)

In the same video, Akash Chopra Pointing out the Indian pairing did not give him the same confidence as before.

“I will be very, very honest. It doesn’t give people the same confidence as it did earlier. Tilak Varma is not here, but what comes to mind is that Sanju Samson is regaining his spot because Tilak Varma is not here, Ishan Kishan has taken his place and Suryakumar Yadav has not scored yet,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator while highlighting that Sanju Samson is regaining his starting spot and Ishan Kishan returning to the T20I team after a long time, noted, Suryakumar Yadav Recently went through a lean run.

“Suddenly, out of your top four, one is regaining his place, one is playing after three years and one is out of form. Suryakumar has not scored a fifty in an Indian jersey for a while. His average is close to 13. That’s a troubling statistic,” Chopra observed.

Finally, Aakash Chopra highlighted that among the top four, only Abhishek Sharma has entered the series with form, runs, confidence and dominance. He added that all the others had some or other personal story, which was not a good sign.