"The battle I'm most looking forward to watching is Pat Cummins bowling to Virat Kohli" - Aakash Chopra ahead of WTC final

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has stated that he is looking forward to the contest between Pat Cummins and Virat Kohli in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval.

Cummins has dismissed the former Indian captain five times in Test cricket in 247 balls while conceding only 82 runs.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra doesn't see the pitch at The Oval being too flat and expects fast bowlers to get some assistance, making the duel between Cummins and Kohli intriguing. He explained:

"The pitch is usually good at The Oval and has bounce. I feel fast bowlers will have some assistance as the fixture takes place in the first week of June and it the deck won't be overly flat. The battle I'm most looking forward to watching is Pat Cummins bowling to Virat Kohli. This is a duel that has produced riveting contests in Australia."

Chopra continued:

"Cummins has come especially for Kohli on numerous occasions and places a fielder at gully or third slip and Usman Khawaja once took a flying catch. I'm keen to see that rivalry because this pitch won't be the same as India when balls used to come slowly and batters played it comfortably. There will be pace and bounce, so that's the contest to watch out for."

Chopra also stated that there is a case for Ravindra Jadeja to bat higher in English conditions, saying:

"The last time India went to England Ravindra Jadeja was promoted in the batting order. So, it remains to be seen if Jadeja bats at five or six. If that's the case, both Jadeja and Ashwin can play. Otherwise, playing two spinners in the first half of English summer is risky."

Jadeja has a decent record with the bat in England. In 11 innings, he has scored 594 runs with the help of three fifties and a hundred. The all-rounder had a productive 2022 on the batting front, amassing 328 runs, including two centuries, in three Tests at an average of 82.

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"When it comes to fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are no-brainers" - Aakash Chopra

Indian cricket team. (Credits: Getty)

Elaborating more on India's team combination for the WTC final, Aakash Chopra opined that the pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are sure to play in the summit clash.

He added that Shardul Thakur should only feature if Umesh Yadav or Jaydev Unadkat don't play as India already have two recognized all-rounders in Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Chopra elaborated:

"When it comes to fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are no-brainers. If both Ashwin and Jadeja are playing, it makes no sense to play Shardul Thakur and a proper fast bowler in Umesh Yadav or Jaydev Unadkat can play. If both of them aren't playing, then Shardul Thakur is a no-brainer as this team prefers an all-rounder lower down the order."

The WTC final between India and Australia will start on June 7.