In picking his team, Chopra factored in statistics and records from the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, and did not hesitate in leaving out some star names. Picking a ‘World XI’ is never easy, but former India cricketer and reputed pundit Aakash Chopra recently took on the task of building his best Test XI, as things stand. Chopra picked a total of four Indian players in his side, but also notably left out Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jasprit Bumrah .
As openers, Chopra went with Australia’s Travis Head and India’s KL Rahul , overlooking Jaiswal and South Africa’s WTC 2025 final hero Aiden Markram . 1-ranked bowler in the ICC Test rankings. Starc and Tongue are the joint-highest wicket-takers of the ongoing cycle, with 58 scalps each.
Because there has been a slight dip in form in the last little while, “I am unable to keep Yashasvi Jaiswal’s name. Because we are looking at the numbers in the last two years, “Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj aren’t there. I am unable to keep Aiden Markram’s name as he hasn’t played much cricket,” Chopra stated, in a video on his YouTube channel . Chopra left out Australian talisman Steve Smith from his middle-order, instead going with England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook , along with India’s current Test captain Shubman Gill . Root, Brook and Gill are the three-highest run-scorers in the ongoing WTC cycle. He then picked Rishabh Pant as his wicket-keeper batter, and Ravindra Jadeja and the now-retired Ben Stokes as all-rounders. The boldest pick came in choosing the fast bowlers, as there was no place for Jasprit Bumrah, who was, until very recently, the No. Bumrah has missed a lot of cricket as well,” Chopra reasoned. Australia’s Mitchell Starc , England’s Josh Tongue and West Indies’ Shamar Joseph were selected as the three frontline seamers. Aakash Chopra’s World Test XI: Travis Head, KL Rahul, Joe Root, Shubman Gill, Harry Brook, Rishabh Pant, Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Starc, Josh Tongue, Shamar Joseph.
