Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has picked his best XI of IPL 2025. Chopra picked Sai Sudharsan and Virat Kohli as his openers in the team. Sudharsan top-scored in the tournament with 759 runs in 15 matches at an average of 54.21 and thus won the Orange Cap award.
Virat Kohli top-scored for RCB in the tournament with 657 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71.
“Firstly, I have kept Sai Sudharsan in my team. He is the Orange Cap holder and has played very well. His batting has been clean. At the end of the tournament, he had so many trophies. It seems the guy is a trophy king. He didn’t win only the IPL trophy this year, but he did everything else and a bit more,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“Virat Kohli will be there alongside him in my team. Virat Kohli’s performance was also very good the entire year. He scored fifties in most of the games away from home, and the team won whenever he scored a fifty. He played an important role. You also saw gears in his batting this year,” he observed.
The renowned commentator picked Jos Buttler as the number three batter and also as the wicket-keeper of the team. Buttler scored 538 runs in 13 innings at an average of 59.78.
“At No. 3, I have kept Jos Buttler as my wicketkeeper-batter. He batted extremely well and scored more than 500 runs. I was a little 50-50 between Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klaasen, but I thought Klaasen didn’t score as many runs in winning causes, and Jos Buttler was phenomenal,” Chopra reasoned.
The former Delhi picked Shreyas Iyer as captain and the number four batter of the team. The PBKS captain amassed 604 runs in 17 matches at an average of 50.33.
“At No. 4, I have got Shreyas Iyer. He has captained extremely well. He combined the five fingers and made a fist. Bengaluru was the only team against whom he didn’t score runs, and that proved expensive in the end. He was absolute gold dust. Shreyas Iyer is my captain,” he observed.
At number five and six, Chopra picked Suryakumar Yadav and Dewald Brevis respectively. SKY, who was awarded MVP of the season, scored 717 runs in 16 matches, whereas Brevis scored 225 runs in six games.
“At No. 5, I have kept Suryakumar Yadav. I know he has been kept slightly down the order, but what can I do? The most valuable player, the way he has batted, he is unreal. He scored more than 25 runs every time, and we got to see different shades of Suryakumar Yadav every time,” Chopra stated.
“At No. 6, I have got Dewald Brevis. Again, multiple contenders – Shashank Singh could have been here, or I could have thought about Naman Dhir, but I am going with Dewald. He has played less, but how well he played. He has got something. He has done an exceptional job, and his fielding was also terrific,” he elaborated.
Chopra picked Krunal Pandya in his team after the all-rounder bagged three Player of the Match awards, including one in the final when he returned with figures of 2-17.
“Only one Pandya can come, and that’s Krunal Pandya. He is a bona fide IPL legend, whether you believe it or not. He is the only player who has two Player of the Match performances in IPL finals. He has three Player of the Match performances in RCB’s winning campaign,” he said.
The former KKR batter picked Jasprit Bumrah in his team. Bumrah picked 18 wickets in 12 matches and bowled with a brilliant economy rate of 6.68.
“After that, Jasprit Bumrah. Jassi was beautiful, the ball he bowled to hit Washington Sundar’s stumps. He had one bad game, and Mumbai were knocked out of the tournament. Apart from that, he didn’t concede more than 30 runs in any match. Jasprit Bumrah is that Kohinoor,” Chopra elaborated.
The reputed commentator picked Noor Ahmad as the solitary specialist spinner in his team. The Afghanistan spinner bagged 24 wickets in 14 matches for CSK.
“After that, there are three more bowlers, one of whom is Noor Ahmad. He played for Chennai, and the Purple Cap was on his head for a long time. The team finished at the bottom of the table, but Noor Ahmad was very good,” he observed.
Chopra picked Josh Hazlewood and Prasidh Krishna as the other two pacers. While Hazlewood scalped 22 wickets in 12 games, Gujarat Titans’ lanky fast bowler, Krishna, bagged 25 wickets and won the Purple Cap award.
“After that, two players who seem to be mirror images of each other. One is Josh Hazlewood, who never loses a final. With Josh, RCB conceded 200 runs only once in the tournament, and without him, they conceded 200 runs in each of the three games,” Chopra noted.
“Then, of course, I am going with Prasidh Krishna. He is the Purple Cap holder. Again, very similar to Josh Hazlewood, hits the deck hard and bowls slightly short of length. He had to bowl full and with the new ball later, and that is where he lost a little bit of sheen and penetration, but he dismissed Rohit Sharma there too,” he added.
Aakash Chopra’s best XI of IPL 2025: Sai Sudharsan, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dewald Brevis, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Noor Ahmad, Josh Hazlewood, Prasidh Krishna.
