Aakash Chopra picks IPL 2025 XI with only uncapped Indians, chooses Vaibhav Suryavanshi over Ayush Mhatre

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked an IPL 2025 XI comprising only uncapped Indians. He chose Vaibhav Suryavanshi ahead of Ayush Mhatre as the No. 3 batter.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bagged the IPL 2025 trophy by beating the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad on June 3. Chopra chose six players from PBKS, and a player each from RCB, the Mumbai Indians (MI), the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Delhi Capitals (DC) in his uncapped Indian XI.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India batter chose the PBKS duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya as the openers in his uncapped Indian IPL 2025 XI.

"I am going with two uncapped Punjabis to begin with. Of course, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya, because they took the team to the final. Priyansh Arya has started so beautifully. Prabhsimran Singh had a season with 500-plus runs. Just to put things into perspective, Rohit Sharma has had one season with 500-plus runs," he said (2:15).

RR's Suryavanshi pipped CSK's Mhatre to the No. 3 batter's position in Chopra's chosen side.

"At No. 3, I am keeping Vaibhav Suryavanshi. It happens once in a generation that a 14-year-old kid scores a hundred, and he didn't stop there. He batted well after that too. I had a choice between Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. I am going with Vaibhav Suryavanshi," the former India opener observed.

Chopra picked the PBKS duo of Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh to bat at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, while also naming the latter as the captain.

"At No. 4, I have Nehal Wadhera. Of course, the final knock wasn't good, but the boy has played well regularly. He plays spin and pace well. He played a significant role in taking Punjab forward," he stated.

"Shashank also had a role. Even in the final, he hit three sixes and a four against Josh Hazlewood off the last four balls. Of course, he couldn't win the match, but you remember his batting from the first match against GT, and then he kept playing important knocks. Shashank is my team's captain," Chopra added.

Chopra chose MI's Naman Dhir as the final specialist batter in his uncapped Indian IPL 2025 XI.

"After that, I have kept Naman Dhir as well. He has batted extremely well. I feel if he had been batted slightly up the order, he would have made bigger contributions. He is a brilliant player," he elaborated.

With 549 runs at a strike rate of 160.52 in 17 innings, Prabhsimran Singh was the highest run-getter among uncapped Indians in IPL 2025. Priyansh Arya (475), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (252), Nehal Wadhera (369), Shashank Singh (350) and Naman Dhir (252) also made crucial contributions for their respective teams.

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"He was the find of the tournament" - Aakash Chopra on picking Vipraj Nigam in his uncapped Indian IPL 2025 XI

Vipraj Nigam picked up 11 wickets and scored 142 runs in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked DC's Vipraj Nigam as a spin-bowling all-rounder in his uncapped Indian IPL 2025 XI.

"After that, I have chosen Vipraj Nigam. A phenomenal all-rounder. I felt he was the find of the tournament. He could be the earliest to play for India. He bowls leg-spin, bowls fast, the ball turns, bowls with courage, and in the powerplay and the middle overs. If you see his batting, his wrists work even on the off side. He has got that incredible skill and the temperament," he said (6:35).

The cricketer-turned-commentator chose PBKS' Harpreet Brar, who picked up 10 wickets in IPL 2025, as his second spinner.

"After that, I am keeping Harpreet Brar. He bats and bowls. He didn't play all the matches, but did well whenever he played. He consistently bowled at one spot. He picked up some big wickets as well. I remember him dismissing Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja," Chopra reasoned.

Chopra picked RCB's Yash Dayal and PBKS' Vijaykumar Vyshak, who accounted for 13 and four dismissals respectively, as the first two seamers in the hypothetical side.

"After that, I have picked three pacers. One is Yash Dayal. He won the team the final. He has been good. He bowled back-of-the-hand slower balls and yorkers. He bowled in different phases," he observed.

"Vijaykumar Vyshak - again, he took the team to the final. The first match against Sherfane Rutherford and brought the ball in very well in the final as well. He got less opportunities, and might have done better had he got more opportunities," Chopra added.

The analyst completed his XI by choosing CSK's Anshul Kamboj, who scalped eight wickets, as the third pacer.

"I was thinking about Ashwani Kumar and Arshad Khan. I was thinking about Prince Yadav as well. Akash Singh also bowled well, but I have to go with Anshul Kamboj because he looks like a long-term prospect," he noted.

Aakash Chopra also picked Ayush Mhatre, the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) Angkrish Raghuvanshi, RCB's Suyash Sharma, and the Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) Digvesh Rathi as the four impact subs.

Aakash Chopra's uncapped Indian IPL 2025 XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Naman Dhir, Vipraj Nigam, Harpreet Brar, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Anshul Kamboj