"His numbers are not flattering at all" - Aakash Chopra on Cheteshwar Pujara's record in England heading into WTC final

Aakash Chopra has highlighted Cheteshwar Pujara and other middle-order Indian batters' underwhelming record in England heading into the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will face Australia in the title decider at The Oval in London from Wednesday, June 7. The Indian batting could hold the key to their prospects in the crunch game.

While previewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Pujara, despite his county exploits, doesn't have a great Test record in England:

"Pujara has scored a lot of runs in county cricket. In fact, because of that only he made a comeback into the Indian team, but the truth is that he has probably played only one match fewer than Kohli but his numbers are not flattering at all."

The former Indian opener added that Ajinkya Rahane, who has a Test average of 26.03 in England, also has numbers similar to Pujara:

"His (Pujara's) average is less than 30. It is either 26 or 29. His and Rahane's averages are almost equal. One has 26 and the other has 29. They have played a lot of matches, have struck a century apiece as well but the average on England grounds over a period of time is below 30, which is not great."

Chopra highlighted that even Virat Kohli has been below-par in England:

"If you are thinking how Kohli's performances have been, his average is also only 33. He has scored over 1000 runs, the only Indian to score a thousand runs in this current team setup but the average is 33 because the 2014 series was very bad and the last one was middling."

Kohli has aggregated 1033 runs at an average of 33.32 in 16 Tests on English soil. The experienced trio of Pujara, Kohli and Rahane will hope to give a better account of themselves this time around and help India bag their first world title since 2011.

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"Shubman Gill hasn't played too many matches here" - Aakash Chopra on India's openers

Shubman Gill has played only two Test matches in England.

Speaking about the openers, Aakash Chopra pointed out that while Rohit Sharma has a decent record in England, Shubman Gill hasn't played much in these conditions:

"Rohit Sharma has done exceedingly well. In fact, he is the only batter in this entire Indian team to have an average over 40 in England. Shubman Gill hasn't played too many matches here. Rohit didn't have form but Shubman is coming with T20 form."

Chopra feels the Indian openers would have to temper their game slightly at the start of their innings, reasoning:

"They will have to change their template slightly because the ball will move a little at the start, there is no doubt about that. You will also have Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland in the opposition bowling attack, and Cameron Green will come when they are required to be released. So they have very good bowling for this pitch."

Rohit has amassed 466 runs at an average of 42.36 in the six Tests he has played in England. Gill has managed only 57 runs at an average of 14.25 in his four innings on English soil.