New Delhi, March 7 (IANS) Former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has backed Varun Chakaravarthy and Abhishek Sharma to feature in India’s playing XI for the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 against New Zealand to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Sharing his views ahead of the title clash, Chopra said he would stick with the same combination and would not make major changes to the team that has reached the final.

The former India opener stated that he would continue to back both Varun and Abhishek despite their inconsistent performances in the tournament so far.

"Despite no significant performance from Varun and Abhishek, you have reached the final, so I think you would not want to make any change in the team in the final," Chopra said in a video released on his X.

"Abhishek is still the No. 1 T20I batter, and to be very honest, I would also go with Varun. There might be a temptation to bring Kuldeep, but I will pick Varun as I believe that a day will come when everything will change, so I am going with an unchanged XI," he added.

Abhishek has been struggling with runs in the ongoing tournament. He has scored just 89 runs across seven innings at a low average of 12.71. Despite a solid 55 against Zimbabwe, he recorded three ducks against the USA, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, struggling to provide consistent starts at the top of the order.

Meanwhile, Varun Chakravarthy started off the tournament well with an outstanding performance in the group stage, but his performance in the Super 8s and the semi-final has become a big headache for the team.

Varun averaged 46.5 with an economy of 11.62 in the Super 8 stage. He also conceded 64 runs against England in the semi-final.

Aakash Chopra's predicted playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.

--IANS

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