Aakash Chopra is an Indian cricket player, who was born on September 19, 1977, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. A specialist opening batsman with the Test team, he also bowls right-arm medium pace occasionally.
On October 8, 2003, Aakash Chopra appeared for the first time in a Test match for India against New Zealand in Ahmedabad during the 2003/04 season. By scoring two half-centuries against New Zealand in the second Test at Mohali, Aakash Chopra established himself in the Indian test squad. Coming in as an opening batsman, he partnered with his Delhi teammate, Virender Sehwag to make two century partnerships, at Melbourne and Sydney, during India’s tour to Australia in the 2003/04 season. Throughout the series, Aakash Chopra, with his solid defensive technique, laid a good foundation for the middle-order batsmen, who came later on to bat, to make big scores.
The Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag pair produced another brilliant partnership against Pakistan in the first test match at Multan during the 2003-04 tour. Together, they put on a century partnership and helped India to set a target of more than 600 runs and beat Pakistan by an innings. Aakash Chopra was included in the 2004 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, who opened the innings in the first and third Test matches played in Bangalore and Nagpur, respectively.
Aakash Chopra made his debut in the domestic matches of 1996/97 season caught the attention of selectors in the 1997/98 Ranji Trophy tournament by scoring 422 runs, including two centuries, at an average of 70.33. His remarkable performances earned him a place in the North Zone team for the Duleep Trophy and he justified his selection by scoring two half-centuries for North Zone in both the innings of the Duleep Trophy match that he played in. Aakash Chopra came back with a bang in the 1999-2000 Ranji season, scoring 309 runs, which included a century. Aakash Chopra made 617 runs at 68.55, which includes a double century in the following season. His 478 runs at an average of 95.6, including two centuries in four matches in the 2001-02 Duleep Trophy, got him the fourth place in the run scoring list. He followed it up with a string of brilliant performances to compile 525 runs at an average of 47.7 in the 2002-03 season.
In the 2008 season Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament, Aakash Chopra played five matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders team. He scored 42 runs for the team and fielded well, taking two catches.
