"He is an ICC trophy winner but without playing a single match" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunities for Gujarat Titans players in IPL 2025

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked Washington Sundar among the Gujarat Titans (GT) players with great opportunities in IPL 2025. He pointed out that the spin-bowling all-rounder didn't get to play a game in India's 2025 Champions Trophy triumph and wasn't used much by the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2024 either.

The Gujarat Titans bought Sundar for ₹3.20 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. The lanky all-rounder picked up a solitary wicket and faced only one ball in the two games he played for SRH last season.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that IPL 2025 presents a huge opportunity for Sundar.

"Washington Sundar's stock has gone so low. I don't know why. He was there in the Champions Trophy recently, but didn't play a single match. He is an ICC trophy winner but without playing a single match. He was with Hyderabad. He didn't used to get an opportunity there too," he said (10:45).

"Here also he has been sold cheap. So he is slightly underrated. People are not giving him that much importance but he is a decent player in my opinion. He might not be a very good finisher, but can bowl in the powerplay and bat at the start. So he could be that umbrella man kind of a player. It's a massive opportunity for Washington Sundar," Chopra added.

Chopra chose Mohammed Siraj as another Gujarat Titans player who could stage a comeback in international white-ball cricket through his performances in IPL 2025.

"Mohammed Siraj, it's a huge opportunity for Miyan Magic because he has been left out in white-ball cricket. He wasn't there in the Champions Trophy squad. Why wasn't he there? No one is taking his name for T20s. Bengaluru also let him go. Mohammed Siraj has a great opportunity to make it back to the Indian team on the back of a fantastic IPL," he observed.

Siraj was part of the Indian squads that reached the 2023 ODI World Cup final and won the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, the right-arm seamer wasn't picked in the Men in Blue's 2025 Champions Trophy squad, with Mohammad Shami, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh selected ahead of him as the three specialist seamers.

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"Don't rule out Shubman Gill" - Aakash Chopra on the opportunity for Gujarat Titans captain in IPL 2025

Shubman Gill doesn't seem to be in India's T20I scheme of things currently. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Gujarat Titans' captain Shubman Gill is also not part of India's T20I setup at the moment.

"Shubman Gill is not part of the T20 squad currently, but don't rule out Shubman Gill. I am saying that because the T20 landscape is changing so rapidly. Yashasvi Jaiswal will come and Shubman Gill will also return because he was captaining against Zimbabwe," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that the Gujarat Titans opener could return to the Men in Blue's T20I side through his performances with the bat and as a leader in IPL 2025.

"He was the heir apparent, but then suddenly he was out from T20s. He can come back and this season can define that. He likes Ahmedabad a lot. He scores a lot of runs there. I feel slight teething problems might have been there in the first year. He will captain the team well this year. That will be a huge opportunity for Shubman Gill to stamp his authority and get back into the Indian team," Chopra elaborated.

Aakash Chopra named Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, and Kumar Kushagra as the other Gujarat Titans players with opportunities in IPL 2025. He pointed out that the Titans' head coach Ashish Nehra would ensure a long run for any player who gets a chance to play.