The 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) end their long wait for an elusive maiden title. During the tournament, several youngsters made a mark, showing that there is no lack of talent in Indian cricket.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra, who followed the tournament closely, recently picked an IPL 2025 XI with only uncapped players. He also named four Impact Substitutes.
As openers, he picked the Punjab Kings’ duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya. He mentioned that Prabhsimran scored 500-plus runs in the season, something that the legendary Rohit Sharma has done only once in his IPL career.
“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,” Chopra said while speaking on a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Chopra said that he had to pick one out of Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Chennai Super Kings’ Ayush Mhatre for the No. 3 role, and he eventually went with the former, who became the youngest centurion in IPL history at just 14 years of age.
“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 went with Punjab Kings’ destructive middle-order pair of Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
“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. 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.
The cricketer-turned-commentator then picked Mumbai Indians’ Naman Dhir as his No. 6 batter and opined that he could have contributed more had he batted higher up the order in the recently-concluded season.
“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.
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Chopra calls Vipraj Nigam find of IPL 2025
The 20-year-old Vipraj Nigam impressed fans as well as experts with his all-round exploits for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025. Chopra described him as the find of the tournament and predicted that he would play for India earlier than the rest of the uncapped players.
“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.
Punjab Kings’ Harpreet Brar got the nod at No. 8 for his ability to bowl accurately and take big wickets. Chopra also pointed out his usefulness as a batter.
“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 three pacers to complete the line-up. He named Yash Dayal from RCB, Vijaykumar Vyshak from Punjab, and Chennai’s Anshul Kamboj. Chopra said that he considered the likes of Ashwani Kumar and Arshad Khan but eventually went with Kamboj because he seemed like a player who could do well for a long time.
“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. 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.
“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.
The 47-year-old picked Mhatre, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Suyash Sharma, and Digvesh Rathi as the four Impact Substitutes.
Aakash Chopra’s uncapped XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Naman Dhir, Vipraj Nigam, Harpreet Brar, Yash Dayal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Anshul Kamboj
