Aakash Chopra picks Ind-Pak combined playing 11 amid 2025 Champions Trophy, doesn't include any Pakistan player

Former India batter Aakash Chopra has picked a combined India-Pakistan playing XI comprising players from their respective 2025 Champions Trophy squads. None of the Pakistan players made it to his chosen side.

India have qualified for the semi-finals of the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy with wins in their first two games against Bangladesh and Pakistan. Pakistan have been eliminated from the tournament post their defeats against New Zealand and India, with the Kiwis joining the Men in Blue in the knockouts from Group A.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the cricketer-turned-commentator chose Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma as his two openers ahead of Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam.

"We have Shubman Gill and you have Imam-ul-Haq. A question shouldn't be asked at all. You will have to keep Shubman Gill in the XI. Then there is Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam. Let's not ask that question either. We will keep Rohit Sharma as despite going through bad form, he scored a century two matches ago and it's been 66 innings since Babar scored a century in ODIs," he said (1:50).

Chopra opined that Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer have to be picked ahead of Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan respectively.

"After that at No. 3, let's not ask the question again. Let's keep Virat Kohli's name quietly. Saud Shakeel has scored a few runs for sure. He is a promising cricketer but let's not go there. There will be a question about Shreyas Iyer or Mohammad Rizwan at No. 4. If ODI cricket was still being played in the 90s or early 2000s, I would have said Mohammad Rizwan," he reasoned.

"Once again, like Babar, I rate Rizwan highly but he is also behind Shreyas Iyer at the moment. Shreyas Iyer scored 500 runs in the World Cup while batting at No. 4 and has hit in virtually every match in the last five games. So you will have to keep Shreyas Iyer," Chopra added.

The former India opener chose KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel over Salman Ali Agha, Khushdil Shah and Tayyab Tahir respectively.

"If you send Salman Ali Agha at No. 5, we will send KL Rahul. Then you will say there is no comparison and KL Rahul will have to be kept in the team. If you send Khushdil Shah, we will send Hardik Pandya. Then you will have to keep Hardik. You will put Tayyab Tahir and we will say look at Axar Patel. It's not a man-to-man comparison, but I still feel Axar Patel will have to be kept," Chopra observed.

Although most Pakistan batters have been among the runs in the 2025 Champions Trophy, their strike rates have let them down. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who had strike rates of 75.00 and 53.84 in the Men in Green's first two games, have particularly been found wanting.

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"There is a case for Abrar but you will have to keep Kuldeep" - Aakash Chopra on his bowling picks in his Ind-Pak combined 2025 Champions Trophy playing 11

Kuldeep Yadav registered figures of 3/40 in nine overs in India's 2025 Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra reckoned that Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami will have to be picked ahead of Abrar Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi respectively in the hypothetical India-Pakistan combined 2025 Champions Trophy playing XI.

"If we go towards the bowling, Kuldeep Yadav or Abrar in spin. There is a case for Abrar but you will have to keep Kuldeep. He is a better bowler. Kuldeep is way ahead of Abrar. If you have to choose one between Mohammed Shami and Shaheen Afridi, whether you see the last 10 matches or the ICC records, you will have to keep Shami," he said (3:30).

The analyst also chose Harshit Rana and Ravindra Jadeja over Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf respectively.

"After that, our Harshit Rana and your Naseem Shah remain. If you see their last five or 10 matches as well, Naseem has a lot of potential, but you might have to pick Harshit Rana. Ravindra Jadeja and Haris Rauf - again there is no comparison," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra pointed out that the absence of any Pakistan player in the combined 2025 Champions Trophy playing XI proves that they are an extremely ordinary team. He added that Mohammad Rizwan and company played timidly and were deservedly knocked out of the tournament.